Shizuru's New Friend
by pokemonfan13
Summary: Shizuru goes on a business trip to America, where she meets a girl strangly like Natsuki. Who is this new friend and what role will she play in the former Hime's life? Shiznat. Rated T just in case.
1. Apology

OH MY GOD I'M NOT DEAD! I know it's been a *cough* while *cough* since I've updated. I'm sorry for taking so long, but some things happen that you can't control. I'm not going into great detail cause I know you guys don't want to hear it you just want me to update. Anyways but for a while I lost my passion for writing. But it's back now so watch for updates. Also I'm revising the chapters I've already updated. I'll upload them before I put any new chapters up. Thank you for being faithful and waiting for me. Happy reviewing and even happier reading. I deleted the chapters I wrote and now am reloading the ones I revised so I don't confuse people, including myself.


	2. An Accident

This is my first Mai Hime fanfic, so I hope it's good. Please, enjoy and R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime or any of their characters. I only own the characters I made for this story.

Summery: Shizuru goes on a business trip to America, where she meets a girl strangely like Natsuki. Who is this new friend and what role will she play in the former Hime's life? Shiznat

Shizuru's New Friend

Chapter One: An Accident

Shizuru let out a sigh as she was currently sitting in a modest black car on the side of the road. To make matters worse said car was all the way in America, away from Natsuki, and her favorite tea. She could not think of any other place she would hate to be more than the one she was currently in. She glanced out the side of the window to stare at the many pine trees that littered the side of the roads of north Louisiana. The purple kimono clad woman tried to force her thoughts away from her Natsuki long enough to think about the meeting she was most likely going to be late for at the best and miss at the worse.

The chestnut haired woman needed a distraction. Her driver was on his cell phone trying to get a tow truck to come pick up this car and another one to pick up Shizuru. The crimson eyed woman was about to sigh once more, but before she could do so there was a thud and a shake of the sleek looking car. The driver, an average man with average hair and eyes, looked at the brunette, "Please stay here, Ms. Fujino, while I see what's the problem."

"Of course." the young woman smiled politely. With a nod the driver got out of the car to find the source of the problem. However, despite her notion of 'of course' she only wasted a couple of moments before exiting the vehicle. Upon getting out she heard a crude, yet childishly small, voice, "Look, Dude, I said I was sorry for running into your car."

Apparently someone liked her enough to answer her request for a distraction cause once out of the car she saw a girl sprawled out on the back of the car. Her legs were resting against the back glass, her feet staying stationary on the roof, her arms were spread out, her long bangs falling over her thick eyebrows and into her eyes, and her long dirty blonde hair was hanging off of the trunk. Behind the car was resting a blue and silver bike turned over on its' side. The girl sat up slowly, rubbing her head, "Dude, who parks on a hill? Seriously, worse place in the world to park."

She flung her legs to the side about to slide off the trunk when the driver opened his mouth to yell at her some more; however, Shizuru stopped him by holding up her hand to let him know she'd deal with it.

"Ara, and who might you be?" she asked in her usually calm tone. The girl turned her dark, yet somehow bright, brown eyes to Shizuru. Something about her eyes seemed familiar though Shizuru couldn't place it at the time. When she answered Shizuru took notice of her accent, it was different from the other people she had talked to from the northern part of the state.

"Macey Cypress." the teen answered shortly as she picked up her bike to inspect it for damages. Shizuru took this chance to inspect the girl. Macey's red polo shirt, khaki pants, black belt, black backpack, and black shoes with red stripes on their sides let Shizuru to the conclusion of the girl being a high school student, or maybe middle school because of her height of five feet. The crimson eyed beauty looked at the girl's face once more to find it held a curious expression, "And may I ask your name now that you know mine?"

"Fujino, Shizuru." the older female answered with her ever present smile. Macey then did something unexpected, she bowed respectfully, "Gomen nasai for running into your car, Fujino-sama."

It would seem the girl had also done some observing of her own.

"Cypress-san is very observant." she continued to smile. Macey also smiled a small smile, "The purple kimono kind of gives it away."

Another strange thing, well it was strange to Shizuru, Macey didn't gawk or stare in awe at the woman before her. Quite the opposite actually since her curious eyes strayed from the woman to the man lifting the hood of the car quite easily, "Car trouble?"

"Unfortunately so." Shizuru answered just as she thought, _She seems different than most._ The teen walked over to the man to take a look, "Maybe I can fix it. It's the least I can do for nearly putting a dent in the trunk with my head."

"Is Cypress-san's head really that hard?" she asked in a light teasing tone.

"Harder." was the smirked reply. The driver grumbled something along the lines of 'teenagers these days...' but Macey was too busy to pay any attention to him. Shizuru glided over to stand beside the girl. Once she was within range she heard the brown eyed girl mumbling to herself, "The fan belt looks fine. Yeah so maybe... the... no." she shook her head, absentmindedly pushing loose strands of dirty blonde hair behind her ears, "So, how long you been sittin' here?"

"I believe we're going on two hours now." Shizuru answered without taking her eyes off the other's hands.

"Wow, you have a sucky driver." Macey snorted.

"I'm right here, you know?" the man burst in annoyance. She waved her hand about in the air, only irking him more, "Yes, yes I see you over there being useless."

"Ara, Macey can be a bit mean." Shizuru teased to which Macey shrugged, "I guess I can be a little blunt at times, but sugar coating things is a waste of time and energy." Her eyes suddenly brightened, finding the problem, "You're battery cable is loose."

The young woman peered into the car to see her tightening it with her hand, "It should stay tight enough for you to get where you need to get and tighten it up good."

Macey closed the hood, signaling for the driver to start the car. He reluctantly obliged after a glance from Shizuru, and it started without a problem. The teen smiled fondly at the car as she patted the hood, "As sweet as a kitten."

"Do you fix everyone's car you run into?" the fair haired woman quizzed as she followed Macey to her bike. The shorter girl shook her head, "You'd be the first."

"I see." Shizuru nodded. Macey picked up her bike as she answered the unasked question, "My three uncles started teaching me about cars when I was four." Glancing at her watch her brown eyes bugged out, "I'd love to stay and chat, Fujino-sama-"

"Shizuru, please." she smiled pleasantly.

"Okay, Shizuru then. I have to go or I'm gonna be late for first period." she said quickly swinging her leg over the seat.

"Ara, allow me to give you a ride." Shizuru gestured to the car, effectively stopping the young looking teen in her tracks. Macey averted her gaze to her bike then the car and back again, "But..." Her expression changed to one of concentration for a moment of thought before she sighed, "Fine. Un momento, por favor."

She then quickly brought her bike behind some trees to hide it. To deter anyone from taking it she wrote a note and taped it to the handlebars that read as follows:

'Warning property of Macey, you know who I am cause there's only one Macey in this whole town. If you touch I will know who you are. How? I'm a werewolf and will be able to track you down by your scent. I will hunt you down and when you least expect it get you in your sleep. Thank you and have a nice day. :) P.S. I like the taste of blood. insert evil laugh here'

Shizuru was in the car wondering what was taking her so long when Macey slid into the backseat next to Shizuru. She informed the driver of where she needed to be and could have sworn he hissed at her while doing so. She just shrugged it off before giving Shizuru a sheepish smile, "I suppose I should stop closing my eyes when I ride my bike down hills. And thanks for the ride."

"I do suppose that would save some trouble in the future." Shizuru smiled in amusement. Macey turned to look out the window; every few seconds she would glance at the woman sitting beside her until Shizuru commented on it.

_Maybe I was wrong about her being different._ the chestnut-haired young woman found herself thinking. Being caught Macey blushed a deep red, "S-sorry, Shizuru. I just... never mind it's stupid. Besides I'm sure you've heard it before."

"What was Cypress-"

"Macey." came the correction.

"Macey," she nodded, "going to say?"

"I think your eyes are cool." she stated with a broad smile, "But like I said you've probable heard that before."

Unknown to Macey Shizuru had never been told her eyes were cool. Alluring, sexy, beautiful, even demonic, but never cool. Of course the girl in question didn't let the surprise show on her face.

"I'm glad you think so." that made her blush grow even more._ Just like teasing Natsuki._ That thought made Shizuru's smile slightly widen. Macey shifted in her seat as she explained, "I've always wanted red eyes and silver hair. Mommy says I watch too much anime."

"May I ask where you are from?" Shizuru ventured, inwardly amused at the girl's use of Mommy, "You have an accent I've never heard before."

"I'm from south Louisiana. Same state yet it's completely different from up here." she let out a homesick sigh.

All too soon they arrived at the school making Macey sigh before getting out. She turned to bow to Shizuru, "Thank you again for the ride."

The Kyoto woman opened her mouth to say something, but before any words could come out a male's voice could be heard, "Hey, Macey!"

The two turned to see a boy a head taller than Macey with dark skin running towards them. His blue shirt was tucked into a pair of pants similar to Macey's.

"Hey, LaKedrick." she greeted with a smile as he stopped next to her. His dark eyes glanced from his friend to Shizuru and back to Macey before smiling devilishly, "So, how much did you get paid?"

There was a moment of confusion before her face turned red in anger, "I didn't get paid because nothing happened. Shizuru gave me a ride after I fixed her car."

"Riiiiiight. That's why you're blushing." he elbowed her in the side playfully moving his eyebrows up and down. The brown eyed girl huffed crossing her arms over her chest to show her annoyance, "It's true. I ran into her car by accident."

"I told you to stop going down that hill with your eyes closed." he pointed his finger at her in a scolding manner. She just scoffed at him. Then without warning he slapped her back causing her arms to shoot out, waving frantically to regain her balance, "Girl guess what!"

"What?" she asked, falling onto her hands. Her backpack slid forward to hit her in the back of the head. Just as she pushed herself back up to her feet LaKedrick leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I almost got caught last night."

"Ha ha." she laughed lightly. He gave her his best hard look as he hit her arm, "It's not funny."

"To me it is." This time it was his turn to roll his eyes. All the while Shizuru just observed the conversation silently. Macey turned away from her friend to face Shizuru, "Until next time."

Shizuru nodded with a smile before a devious idea popped into her head and beckoned Macey to lean in closer with her hand. Macey blinked once before moving closer. Shizuru chuckled mentally, _Such an obedient child._

"Thank you for making my stay interesting." Then before Macey knew what was going on Shizuru kissed her cheek. In surprise the girl reeled from the contact, hitting her head on the ceiling of the car.

"Dammit!" her hands flew to her hurt head. Shizuru offered a light wave for her actions and as she closed the door she heard LaKedrick's voice float into the vehicle, "So what's going to happen next time?"

"Shut up!" was the exasperated response. Fading footsteps could be heard, followed by the annoying sound of the school bell.

"Next time." She echoed once the door was shut. Shizuru had no idea how true those words were or what truth they held of the future as her driver continued to the meeting place. All throughout the meeting her mind kept drifting to the girl that reminded her so much of her loved one. Natsuki was still trying to come to terms with her feelings for Shizuru though the carnival had ended nearly a year ago. It was becoming increasingly hard to keep those feelings in check. That being the reason she agreed to take this trip.

The meeting ended at around four and just as the ruby eyed woman was thinking about a brown eyed teen she saw the girl in question riding her bike on the side of the road. Her backpack had expanded greatly since that morning.

Macey was happily going on with her life; that was until a certain black car started creeping next to her. It took her a moment to realize the car was there, and in that moment Shizuru saw a very content smile playing across the girl's features. She pressed on her brakes hard enough to make the back tire come up off the ground. Her left foot touched the ground just as the tire did. The window rolled down to reveal a smiling Shizuru, "Ara, hello, Macey."

"Hi, Shizuru. Where are you off to?" she asked curiously before quickly adding, "If you don't mind me asking that is."

"I'm headed back to my hotel." the chestnut haired woman answered, "You?"

"The store. Mom called to tell me to buy some stuff on my way home. I had to tell her I was going to be a little late because my bike wasn't exactly on hand at the moment." Macey then sighed over dramatically, "She then told me to stop going down that hill with my eyes closed."

Shizuru brought her hand to her mouth to keep any sort of amused sounds coming out, "It would seem everyone knows about your habit."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" she smiled sheepishly with a light shrug. Something in her smile seemed to change, or was it Shizuru's imagination? She concluded it was her imagination as Macey spoke once more, "Guess I should let you go then."

The brown eyed girl started walking away before she paused as if something had just dawned on her. When the teenager turned her head to glance at Shizuru over her shoulder a picture of Natsuki flashed in her mind's eye. She was brought out of her thoughts by the somewhat childish voice of the other girl, "Tell your driver to be careful. Most people from Louisiana tend to drive like bats flying out of Hell."

"Is Macey speaking from experience?" the older woman quipped. Macey shrugged her reply, "Just some friendly advice."

And just like that she rode off into the horizon as fast as she could. An hour later and Shizuru was pondering her words. She finally concluded that she needed to get back to her hotel room to have some green tea so she could think clearly. Unbeknownst to the tea lover that would be the last thought she would think for a while thanks to the speeding car that ran them off the road. Her head made contact with the window, effectively drawing blood, just as the car came into contact with the water of the lake at the bottom of the elevated road.

There was a muffled splash as things started to blur together thanks to the water and hit to the head. She blinked once, twice; the second time she opened her eyes she saw a pair of brown orbs staring back at her. That was the last thing she saw before her eyes closed, trying to fight off the darkness threatening to engulf her. She could feel her body being pulled close to another. Moments later she felt herself being placed onto her back gently.

"Get the... driver. Okay." the words barely made it to her brain. They sounded so close, yet so far. Funny wasn't everything in her life that way. A cold feeling surrounded her like a pack of starving wolves after the person next to her waded out into the water to get the last victim. A minute or so passed by before the warmth came back. The person was panting ever so slightly. Something warm was placed against her chest, and then it was gone.

"Still alive." came a breathed sigh, "I wish people would listen."

Sirens could be heard and a, "Finally." Shizuru then let the welcoming darkness completely consume her.

* * *

Omake:

Natsuki was sitting on her couch, a throw pillow in her arms, watching Jaws completely oblivious to the creature lurking towards her until a familiar theme could be heard throughout the living room from the TV. Just as the shark attacked so did Shizuru.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru glomped her lover from behind. Natsuki's screams were the next thing to fill the room.

* * *

As I was typing the part about the car creeping up on Macey the theme from Jaws popped into my head. LOL. Anyone else? Hence the Omake. Chapter 1 revised


	3. The Hospital

This is my first Mai Hime fanfic, so I hope it's good. Please, enjoy and R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime or any of their characters. I only own the characters I made for this story.

Summary: Shizuru goes on a business trip to America, where she meets a girl strangely like Natsuki. Who is this new friend and what role will she play in the former Hime's life? Shiznat

Thank you everyone that reviewed. ^_^

Shizuru's New Friend

Chapter Two: The Hospital

Pain. Not much of it, but enough to let Shizuru know she was alive. Her crimson eyes fluttered open; and for a moment, she thought that maybe she had gone blind somehow thanks to the darkness that filled the room. It took a moment for her to adjust to the semi-darkness. The only light came from a lamp to her right.

"But I want the cookie." whined a familiar voice out of the darkness. The fair haired woman sat up, causing her to feel a sudden draft. She looked down finally realizing she was wearing a hospital gown. She pushed the thought of how she got into it in the first place aside as she turned her head to the right to find a sleeping Macey laid out on a small love seat. The teen's bare legs were resting against one of the arms while her head rested on the other. Her left arm was under her head and her right one, along with a book, was draped over her stomach. She looked different with a black shirt and blue jean shorts. The lamp facing the girl seemed to highlight her features.

The scene could be called adorable. Finding herself smiling at the innocent looking girl the Kyoto native wondered how long she had been there. With an unidentifiable mumble the dirty blonde haired girl rolled over and off her place of rest with a rather loud thud. She landed sprawled out on her back, staring up at the ceiling sleepily.

"Ara, Macey is awake?" the Kyoto accent brought her out of her daze as she shifted her head to face the older female. As they stared back at each other Shizuru couldn't help but see a flash of Natsuki in her mind. Macey broke the connection by commenting, "I think so."

As if to prove that she was her stomach let out an annoyed growl. Her cheeks turned a light red, "Guess that answers that question."

She sat up slowly, her back cracking the whole way up. The Louisiana-born female stood with a wince. After some stretching she flashed a smile, "I didn't want to chance getting sick from the hospital food so I skipped dinner. And like a dingbat I didn't get Mom to bring my anything. Honor roll student, really sometimes I wonder."

"How did Macey-san know where I was? You were the one who pulled me out, yes?" the chestnut-haired young woman seemingly ignored her as she changed the subject in a calm seriousness that made Macey's smile drop into a slight frown and she almost quirked a thick eyebrow at the honorific, "Well yeah, and there are plenty of ways I could have known. For instance I could have sent that car there."

"Then why save my life?"

"To become friends and slowly tare your world apart over time." she shrugged as if guessing the answer. Upon seeing the blank look on Shizuru's face she sighed, looking her in the eyes with matching seriousness, "You wouldn't believe me."

The sudden maturity shining in the brown eyes caught Shizuru off guard, but never showed it, "You would be surprised."

After a moment Macey gave in with a sigh, "I'm psychic, well not exactly. I have premonitions sometimes when I sleep, but I don't remember them until moments before what I saw is suppose to happen." Macey laughed lightly, "Sounds crazy, right?"

"I've heard crazier." Shizuru smiled at her reassuringly. Macey's stomach broke the moment pretty effortlessly. Macey brought her hands to her belly, "I forgot I was hungry."

Her legs brought her to the closet while her brown eyes darted everywhere in suspicion. The teen opened the door and pulled out a large bag of Hot Fries. There was a devious chuckle before she practically skipped back to the love seat. Shizuru took a moment to check out the room she was in. It wasn't anything special, just the usual white walled room with a single bed, a chair, a love seat, a TV with nothing to watch on it, and monitors of all kinds; of and there was a bathroom too.

"You want one?" the question averted the ruby gaze to the girl sitting on the love seat. She was holding out a single Hot Fry to her. Not really hungry, but not wanting to be rude, Shizuru took it gingerly.

"Junk food is bad for you this late." she stated in a matter of fact tone. It was indeed late, almost midnight actually, but Macey shrugged as she stuffed about fifteen of them in her mouth at once.

"Macey." the fair haired female had to force a grimace from her beautiful features.

"Hm?" was Macey's somewhat averted response, though the fact that Shizuru had dropped the honorific didn't escape her.

"How old are you?" she quizzed before taking a very small bite of the baked chip between her fingers.

"I'm seventeen and," she rolled her brown eyes, "they're not that bad." By the time her companion had put the last small bite into her mouth Macey had finished off the bag.

"All gone." the brown eyed girl turned the bag upside down with a heavy sigh, "And before I could get some vanilla ice cream to go with them."

Shizuru had to once more force her smile to stay in place as she felt like running to the bathroom. Macey sighed again before she started to stand. She froze however when the door started to open slowly.

"Eep!" Macey squeaked, falling back onto the love seat and stuffing the empty bag between the cushions. A hand reached in to flick on the lights. As intended the lights came to life effortlessly blinding the occupants of the room. Shizuru could hear a faint hissing sound coming from Macey as she covered her own eyes with her hands.

"Oh man!" was accompanied with the hiss.

"Sorry, Macey. I guess I should of known you'd be awake. You never sleep unless you're on sedatives in a hospital bed of your own." a soft voice floated into their ears.

"Not true, Grace." the teen stated defensively, blinking a couple of times in an attempt to make the dots dancing in front of her eyes to go away.

"Really?" the brunette put her hands on her hips. Her blue eyed gaze seemed to bore into the brown eyed girl, "And just when do you sleep?"

"Four hours a day, Monday through Friday. Eight to nine hours on the weekend." she answered as if she were telling at what time a store was open.

"My point exactly." the tall woman in her late twenties stated as she wheeled in her equipment. Macey crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, "Whatever." Grace chuckled at the girl's childish behavior.

"This'll just take a second." she smiled at Shizuru. In turn Shizuru tipped her head slightly in understanding. Macey turned around on the love seat, sitting cross-legged so her back was to the annoying nurse. She grumbled something to herself as Grace started taking Shizuru's blood pressure. The older winked at the chestnut-haired young woman before commenting louder than necessary, "You know the last time she came in here to get her appendix taken out she was so sedated that she was drooling all over herself."

Macey's face turned a shade of red that even rivaled Shizuru's eyes. Upon seeing this Grace continued with a devilish smirk, "She tried to argue that she wasn't tired, but she was slurring her words so bad she sounded like a drunkard. And she nearly fell out the bed when she tried to go to the bathroom."

Shizuru brought her hand to her mouth, trying to keep in the laughter, not that it was working. If it was possible Macey's face darkened a shade or two darker. The dirty blonde then added, "I also recall trying to walk as soon as possible so I could get out of here before I died of starvation."

"It's not our fault you didn't like the food and you get hungry every two hours." Grace retorted, wheeling her equipment to the door. Macey was still pouting so Grace asked, "You want some chocolate ice cream?"

This got a reaction from the teen. She slowly turned her head to look at the older woman, "With sprinkles?"

"Of course." she smiled knowingly. She then turned to Shizuru, "Would you like something?"

"Maybe some green tea." her smile grew ever so slightly at the thought of sipping her favorite beverage. The brunette nodded in understanding before leaving the two alone. It another few moments for Macey's face to return to its' normal complexion. After letting out a sigh she maneuvered off the love seat. She took the bag from between the cushions to throw it away. The shorter girl walked towards the trash can near the door just as the door knob turned.

"Hm?" was all Macey got out before the wooden door came into contact with her forehead. The brown eyed girl stumbled back a bit until she landed on the bed. Her hand immediately flew to her head.

"Ara. Is Macey okay?" she heard a strong Kyoto accent ask in a concerned manner.

"I should be. After all my head is pretty hard." she answered, opening her eyes slowly. Once completely open the first thing she saw were a pair of crimson orbs staring back at her. They stayed staring at each other for a moment before Grace broke it, "I'm sorry, Macey. How do you feel?"

"Hungry." she answered as she sat up, averting her gaze from Shizuru to Grace rather easily. The two younger females watched her place some folded clothes, a bowl of ice cream, and a cup of tea on the dresser next to the bed.

"Let me see." the nurse ordered while moving the girl's hand to inspect the injury. She placed a tender hand over it only to cause the teen to yelp, "Don't touch it!"

She backed away as best she could from the nurse's touch. Grace sighed, "I'll be right back to get you something for it."

"That's okay! I'm fine! Really, no need to get anything." she forced a smile pass the pain that suddenly throbbed in her brain.

"In fact." she started as she slipped off the bed and made her way to the door, "I'm going to get me something to drink."

"Macey," Grace sighed, "You can be so stubborn sometimes."

"Macey can be, but Shizuru needs to change and Shizuru needs privacy to do so. Thus it would be logical for Macey to leave, yes?" with her hand positioned over the door knob she paused to add, "Macey needs to stop talking in third person."

And with that she was out the door before Grace could protest anymore. Macey walked down the halls she knew all too well. She found herself wishing she didn't once more. The brown eyed girl sighed when she finally made it to the vending machines where a girl with long dark hair and matching eyes was glaring at the drink machine through wire framed glasses.

"Excuse me. Do you need some help?" she asked, not really sure why she was in such a helping mood as of late. She turned to face her with a nod and a sheepish smile, "Yes, please."

The dirty blonde haired girl walked over to the machine and kicked it expertly in the side. It made a clicking sound before releasing the hostage it once held. She handed it to her with a smile, "You just have to know how hard and where to hit it."

The girl blushed as she took it, "T-thank you."

"Your very welcome." Macey replied not really knowing why the other girl was blushing. She just shrugged it off as she put her own money in to get a coke.

"These machines like to shake your coke up good before letting you have it." Macey stated more to herself than anyone else, "I'd say it was a conspiracy by all the companies, but with no proof there's not much you can do about it."

She brought the red can to her mouth, opening it with her teeth, before swallowing some. She was too occupied with her drink to notice the girl was still there and giggling to herself.

"Saki Kano."

"Hm?" the Cajun looked at her in complete confusion.

"My name is Saki Kano." the dark eyed girl clarified, extending her hand. The other girl took it cautiously, "Macey Cypress. You can call me Macey."

"Okay. Call me Saki then." she blushed lightly again.

"O-kay." Macey shifted uncomfortably as she took her hand back. She started walking away with Saki close behind, "May I ask why you're here?"

"I'm visiting a friend." she answered in a carefree tone, "You?"

"My Father is visiting one of his coworkers." Saki informed.

"This late?" the other quizzed curiously. She nodded, "We just flew in from Japan tonight."

"That makes sense." Macey conceded. They stopped in front of Shizuru's door just as it opened to reveal Shizuru and a short man saying goodbye to each other.

"Shizuru?" Macey tilted her head to the right in confusion.

"Saki?"

"Macey?"

"Father?"

"Well now that all of that's out of the way?" a certain American rolled her eyes.

"So, Shizuru-san is the friend you're visiting?" Saki glanced at the girl standing next to her. Macey nodded, "That's correct."

"And who is this?" Mr. Kano interrogated, while eying the girl in question. She just returned his state as his daughter answered, "This is Macey Cypress. We just met."

"Hm, I see." he tapped his chin with his index finger before smiling warmly, "Then why don't you invite her to the party?"

"Of course!" Saki exclaimed happily. Why hadn't she thought about that?

"Party?" now Macey was definitely confused. The other teen clad in a blue shirt and skirt nodded quickly, "Father is throwing a party this Wednesday. Would you like to come?"

Not really sure what to do she glanced at Shizuru, who had her usual calm smile on. The Kyoto native nodded slightly prompting Macey to accept the invitation, "Okay."

"Great! I can't wait to see you there." she smiled as she and her father walked away. The brown eyed girl waved a goodbye before following Shizuru back into the room. There Macey's smile fell into a frown, "Stupid."

Her hand hit her forehead causing her to wince and Shizuru to look at her, "I have school Wednesday. I can't just skip without an excuse."

"Ara, now what will Macey do?" she quizzed as she walked back to the bed. Macey shook her head in frustration, "Get Mom to right me an excuse I guess. I just hope she agrees to it."

"So do I." Shizuru admitted with her ever present smile. She was also happy to be out of that ridiculous gown. As Macey sat on the edge of the bed the chestnut haired woman started to undo her kimono.

"I don't have any singles sorry." Macey commented much to Shizuru's amusement.

"A twenty will be fine." at that Macey laughed. Shizuru placed it carefully on the bed next to Macey revealing a white nagajuban underneath.

"That looks really difficult to put on." Macey spoke mostly to herself as Shizuru took the nagajuban off, finally getting to the white hiyoku.

"At first yes, but as you practice you get better and after a while it doesn't take any time at all." Shizuru picked up the clothing to hold it neatly and place it on the dresser next to the bed.

"I'll just take your word for it." the teen snorted, falling back on the bed. She closed her eyes, _Hope they have good food at the party. Maybe some sushi, or some Pocky. Yeah, Pocky._ Her mouth started watering at the promise of tasty treats, a line of drool coming from the corner of her mouth. Shizuru noticed and chuckled at the sight. Deciding to be her usual teasing self she crawled over the younger girl. When Macey opened her eyes all brown say was red. She flinched at the proximity of their two bodies, not being one fond of the concept of touching. Shizuru smirked slyly at this, "Was Macey having such dirty thoughts she started to drool?"

"No! I was just thinking about food is all!" a dark blush spread over the girl's face.

_So cute._ Shizuru rolled over onto her back to lay next to Macey, much to the girl's relief.

"Would you be offended if I said I hate you?" Macey jested halfheartedly, trying to make the blood leave her cheeks.

"Meanie." Shizuru pouted. Macey waved off her complaint, "Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before."

After a moment or two in silence the younger of the two broke it, "Shizuru?"

"Yes?"

"What's it like in Japan?" the teen asked thoughtfully, "I've always wanted to go."

"Why don't you?" Shizuru asked curiously, hoping the girl would open up to her even just a little.

"I do, I really do!" she cast her arms up in a childish type of excitement that couldn't be contained, "I want to see the whole world! I want to know what it's like!" Her arms and face fell slowly, "Dealing with family doesn't really give me time to do what I want."

Over the course of the next couple of hours Shizuru learned that Macey's favorite animal was the dolphin, her favorite colors were silver, black, and orange in that order, her favorite food was cheese, her favorite car was the Mustang, she likes motorcycles, loved mayo, had two brothers, and sister, one of her brothers and her dad lived in Texas, while the other two lived with her and her mom, and loads of other things; but the most important thing Shizuru learned about the other girl was that she was a lonely puppy trying to be a lone wolf.

Shizuru told the curious girl about her life back in Japan; though she talked mostly about Natsuki. Which, of course, Macey didn't let that go unnoticed. They didn't exactly know why they opened up to each other so quickly, but they talked until Macey fell back against the bed, snoring softly. The crimson eyed woman decided to just leave her there as she laid down in bed to let sleep take over.

An hour later a ringing could be heard from the side of the bed. Macey's face twisted into one of annoyance and anger as it continued to ring. She wasn't sure if it was her's or Shizuru's, but she answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Shizuru?" an unfamiliar accented voice sounded confused. Well it wasn't her cell phone so she shook the other girl, "Shizuru, it's for you."

"Who is it?" Shizuru pushed it away sleepily. Macey put the phone back to her ear to hear the husky voice on the other side cursing in Japanese.

"Sumimasen, onamae wa nan desu ka?" Macey quizzed.

"Natsuki." came the reluctant response. Brown eyes turned to the foreigner, "She said her name is Natsuki."

"Nani!" Shizuru sat up quickly, snatching the phone from the stunned girl.

"Oi, Natsuki." she greeted happily, sleep completely forgotten.

* * *

Omake:

Natsuki: Who's the weird new girl?

Shizuru: You mean Saki-san?

Natsuki: Yeah, for some reason she reminds me of Tomoe.

Macey: Really, I don't think she's that bad. (An ominous shadow of Saki appears behind her.)

Shizuru and Natsuki: (sweat-dropping) If you say so.

Macey: (confused) Is something behind me?

* * *

Finally Natsuki appears, well not really, but she will in the next chapter. We'll get Natsuki's side of this chapter leading up to the phone call. And if you're wondering why Shizuru's phone still works; her purse is waterproof. Anyways please review and tell me what you think about it so far. Until next time. Bye-bye.

Chapter 2 revised


	4. Back in Fuuka

First off thanks to all who reviewed. I didn't expect to get that many, but I hope I get a lot more in the future. Also no need to worry about Macey becoming like Tomoe because she won't. If she does ya'll are welcome to threaten me with death threats. -_- **ChieH **that same thought has crossed my mind as well. Finally this story is definitely Shiznat; Macey's just a nice little plot twist. Things about their connection will be revealed in the future. **SpiderLilies2007** thank you for letting me use your idea.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-Hime. Wish I did, but so far it hasn't happened. -_-;

Shizuru's New Friend

Chapter Three: Back in Fuuka

_I don't care that she didn't call me yet._ Natsuki Kuga tried to convince herself. She was sitting in her dorm room glaring at the phone that just wouldn't ring. The cobalt young woman had been staring at it for the past fifteen minutes. She opened her mouth to curse the damnable device when it finally started ringing. Natsuki dived for it with great athletic skill, landing stretched out over the coffee table.

"Shizuru?" the emerald eyed young woman asked hopefully.

"No, it's Mai." her hopeful smile fell into a slight frown. "Where are you? If you don't hurry you're going to be late for class." the ex-fire Hime scolded.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." and without a goodbye she hung up on her friend. The though of having to double up on classes again to make up for her attendance record had her moving off of the table with excellent speed. She let out a sigh as she glanced at the clock. Stuffing her phone into her pocket she hastily grabbed her keys on her way out the door.

Still, why hadn't she called? Maybe something happened to her. Wait. Natsuki stopped to bring her mechanical monster to life and put on her helmet. She didn't care, right? It's not like the rumors were true. It's not like she was Shizuru's 'wolf pup', 'cuddle puppy', or any other thing people insisted on caller her, not to her face of course.

She did miss the older girl, and the more she thought about it she realized she did care. She cared a lot. She was her best friend after all, but Shizuru wanted to be more than 'just friends'. Then again part of Natsuki wanted to be more than just friends too, but the other part of her was too scared to let that happen. There were so many what if's she had to think about. What if they become a couple and things go down hill? What if they get into fights once they move in with each other? The roaring engine quieted down as she switched off the key.

Taking off her helmet, she shook her head frustratedly. _Think about the good what if's._ She told herself. Walking to her class quickly she continued to think about Shizuru. Maybe she should just tell the Kyoto beauty that she loves her. That would make things a lot easier. So why didn't she? Simple because she was afraid. Why was she scared? Part of her didn't even know why. The other part of her couldn't forget that night and what Shizuru had done for her; to her.

Her eyes softened at the memory. Things were finally back to the way they were before the whole Hime thing and now maybe she could give Shizuru what she's been wanting for so long; what they both wanted.

"Hey, Natsuki." Mai greeted her friend with a wave. Mikoto was standing next to her wearing an outfit much like Mai's. The younger girl had also started to mature body wise, being more filled out and taller.

"Hey, Mai, Mikoto." she greeted back with a slightly forced small smile. Mai, of course, noticed this, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Natsuki nodded as they walked towards the building.

"Are you sure? Ever since Shizuru-san lef-" Mai stopped walking abruptly as if just realizing something. Her smile turned sly as she sped up to catch the other two, "Is Natsuki-chan missing her mistress?" she cooed.

"She's not my mistress!" the blunette barked. Her speed quickened in an effort to keep Mai from seeing the blush forming on her cheeks. The orange haired teen was going to tease her more, but Mikoto spoke up first, "Mai, what's a _mistress_?"

"Um, well..." Mai laughed nervously at the question. She glanced over at the retreating young woman thinking, _This isn't over, Natsuki._ Natsuki heard the youngest girl and couldn't hold back her smirk, or maybe she could but just didn't want to. Her smirk turned into a snicker as she listened to the fading voice of Mai trying to explain what a mistress is to Mikoto.

In class Natsuki had trouble focusing on the subject at hand. Instead her mind kept slipping to Shizuru. What was she doing in America, anyway? Going to a business meeting for the company. That's what she said, but Natsuki wondered if it was more than just that. Perhaps she was part of the reason she'd be gone for a week; she had already been gone for two days including today. _Yeah, I'm probably part of the reason. A big part._

'Ara. I will always love my Natsuki.' That's what she said before getting on the plane. Natsuki just turned her head and blushed. Why didn't she say she loved her back? Especially after she saw the hurt in Shizuru's eyes that was gone in seconds; covered up by that perfected mask with a pleasant smile. The green eyed young woman felt like banging her head against something for being so dumb. For someone so smart she sure could be stupid at times.

_Maybe I should call her tonight._ She pondered to herself. She nodded to the idea a moment later, though this action caught the attention of her teacher.

"Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us, Kuga-san?" he asked in a stern voice.

"Not really." she answered curtly, receiving a glare from him. She just returned it until he returned to his lesson. When the bell rang she was the first one out the door, not even stopping at the sound of her teacher calling her name. At lunch she made sure to avoid Mai at all times. This task proved to be easier said than done, seeing as how Mai was looking for Natsuki. She was doing pretty good until she stopped behind a tree to check her phone for any new messages. None.

"Is the wolf pup feeling lonely?" an annoyingly familiar voice teased from above. Natsuki looked up to see Nao smirking down at her. The redhead was also wearing a high school uniform.

"Don't you have some man in some dark alley somewhere to con?" Natsuki retorted.

"I'm sure he appreciates the extra time you're allowed him." she rolled her eyes. Natsuki started tapping her foot impatiently, "What do you want?"

"Nothing really." Nao shrugged, then yelled, "Hey, Tokiha, she's over here!"

Natsuki blanched, "Traitor."

"Please." Nao rolled her eyes before jumping from the tree to go to a place Natsuki was sure she didn't want to know about.

"Natsuki!" Mai's voice made her body stiffen. In the next moment Natsuki started running, "Stop following me!"

"Never!" Mai called back, "Not until you admit you miss Shizuru-san!"

"I'll never admit anything to you!" the blunette cried. Suddenly Mikoto came out of nowhere, trying to tackle her to the ground. Natsuki expertly ducked under her, causing Mikoto to land on Mai, sending the two to the ground.

"I'll get you yet, Natsuki!" Mai exclaimed in defeat.

"Good luck to you, Mai!" Natsuki laughed at her small victory. The rest of the day Natsuki was walking on air, stealthily avoiding detection from her busty friend until she go back to her dorm room. Once inside the protective walls of her living area she locked the door. Throwing her bag full of books on the sofa; she stalked over to the fridge.

She took out a bottle of mayo, followed by a spoon from the drawer. She started consuming her snack greedily. One up side about Shizuru being away was that she wasn't scolding Natsuki for eating that 'terrible white substance' as the crimson eyed woman so bluntly put it. She checked her phone once more before placing it on the table. Reluctantly, she started working on her homework. Ever so often, every other minute actually, she would glance at it as if her stares were willing it to ring.

Once finished with her work she ate mayo sandwiches and took a shower. The hot water didn't do much to relax her, but it was always nice to feel refreshed. Finally after pondering over whether to call or just go to America herself she picked up the phone. After all she couldn't just skip school; Shizuru would definitely have a fit. She dialed the number by memory. It rang a couple of times before an unfamiliar voice answered on the other end.

"Shizuru?" maybe it was the phone connection. Natsuki cursed as she heard movement then the unknown girl came back on the phone, "Sumimasen, onamae wa nan desu ka?"

"Natsuki." she replied reluctantly. After a couple of moments, "Oi, Natsuki."

"Don't 'Oi, Natsuki' me. Who are you with?" she nearly growled into the phone. After the reply she got her face turned a bright red, and she was certain she heard the older girl laughing in her head.

"NO! I was just wondering. Well you didn't call and I got worried." was the hurried response.

"O-okay." she stammered, "I know."

She hung up only to start berating herself, _Stupid, why didn't you tell her then?_ She wasn't sure of the answer, or if she wanted it now. Maybe Shizuru was moving on with someone else. Natsuki shook her head; she wouldn't do that. She promised to love her forever. She let out a heavy sigh. She's have to call her again tomorrow after school.

* * *

Omake:

Shizuru: Ara, ara. Natsuki is so cute when she misses me so. (hugging Natsuki close to her)

Natsuki: (pushing herself from Shizuru) Why am I so needy in this chapter?

Author: It was Shizuru's idea.

Natsuki: Why would you listen to her!

Author: She can kill me in two seconds if she wanted to.

* * *

Sorry if it isn't as good as you guys hoped it would be, and Natsuki will be back in a couple of more chapters. Chapter 3 revised


	5. Dreaming of You

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime or any of their characters. I only own the characters I made for this story.

Summary: Shizuru goes on a business trip to America, where she meets a girl strangely like Natsuki. Who is this new friend and what role will she play in the former Hime's life? Shiznat

Thank you **SpiderLilies2007, Ayou, Natsuki Kuga, glowie, ALEXISSA2, tsubasa, rainee-chan, LucyEllis, ChieH, kikyo4ever, brightmoon78, Shizuruxnatsuki3, volk83, and kiangs** for reviewing. ^_^

Shizuru's New Friend

Chapter Four: Dreaming of You

"Is Natsuki jealous?" Shizuru teased, her smile threatening to grow even wider. Macey just listened, though she wasn't really listening to the words; she was listening to the tone of the voice talking. That was were the real words were being spoken.

"Ara. She is just a friend I met here in America. There is no need for Natsuki to worry about me. I'm fine." she assured her best friend. Shizuru seemed to hesitate for a moment. Macey suddenly found herself glancing at the older girl at the hesitation.

"I love you, Natsuki." she spoke suddenly. There was a short pause before she hung up. Shizuru felt like sighing, but it was too early in the morning for that. Besides, with no tea she just didn't have the energy. So she settled for closing her eyes instead. Guessing the older woman could use some personal time Macey stood up from the floor, "I'm gonna go find Grace. I'm sure you can't wait to get out of here."

Before the chestnut haired woman could say anything Macey slipped on her shoes and was out the door. A second later she poked her head back into the room with a sheepish smile, "I forgot to ask if you wanted anything."

"Green tea." she requested with a smile. The dirty blonde haired girl nodded, "Of course."

Once Macey was gone Shizuru's thoughts drifted back to Natsuki. She knew the girl had trouble expressing her feelings. Maybe she was pushing the younger woman too hard. Then again maybe she wasn't pushing her hard enough. She just didn't know exactly where she stood when it came to her beloved. Hopefully some tea would help clear her mind; after all she had to think about the business-type party Saki's father would be throwing tomorrow. The ruby eyed woman looked around the room. She never cared for the hospital. It always seemed so depressing and smelled like cleaning supplies.

"Hello, Shizuru." Grace broke through her thoughts.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Grace-san." she smiled back pleasantly, reverting to her native tongue subconsciously. Grace's smile never faded as she continued, "You can sign the papers today and you'll be able to leave."

"Thank you, Grace-san for you assistance." the younger of the two bowed her head. Grace just nodded, leaving the room so she could get the release forms ready. After she was gone Shizuru put on her kimono. She was done with this task by the time Macey opened the door while balancing a tray with a mug and a kettle of tea on it in one hand. The brown eyed girl closed the door with her foot with a laugh, "You know when I was little I would practice being a waitress because I always thought I'd be one by the time I turned sixteen."

She held the tray up with one hand with a smile an experienced waitress would envy. She placed the tray on the table besides the bed. Macey poured some tea into the mug with that same grin on her face, "Your tea, miss. I'm dreadfully sorry it took so long, but not many people ask for this type of tea around here."

"Ara. Does Macey want to be an entertainer when she grows up?" Shizuru teased, taking the cup from her gingerly. Macey rolled her eyes at the 'when she grows up' part of her statement, then shook her head, "I'm just good at making people smile and after that conversation it seemed like you needed a smile."

"So you understood?" the crimson eyed woman quizzed before sipping her tea. Macey smiled childishly, "I did tell you I watch too much anime."

"Yes, I suppose you did." Shizuru sipped more of her tea. A content smile spread across her face from the familiar taste. Granted it wasn't the way she made it, but it would do for now.

"So, are they releasing you from this more-like-a-prison-than-a-place-to-heal hospital?" she quizzed while picking up her phone, changing the subject seamlessly. Scrolling down she saw no one had called her. It would seem no one wanted to talk to her, then again maybe that was a good thing.

"I will be allowed to leave after I sign the papers." Shizuru informed before she sipped her tea some more.

"Yes!" she heard Macey celebrate, "If it were me they would have kept me to run some tests to try to find out what planet I came from. Even Mamma isn't completely sure that I'm from this world."

Placing her index finger against her chin, there was a short moment of thought, "I think I'd like to be from Pluto." she nodded, "Yeah, Pluto. Cold like me." she mused to herself as she waited for the other girl to finish her drink.

"Oh, I don't think Macey is so cold." Shizuru smiled to which Macey smirked, "That's because you haven't seen me at my worst yet. You only just met me you'll see. I can be very icy."

Five cups of tea and a few signed papers later a very impatient teen stalked out of the hospital, twirling a set of keys around her index finger. A very relaxed and calm looking Shizuru followed in amusement. Suddenly Macey stopped at a silver Isuzu Rodeo. The teen smiled at it fondly.

"You can drive?" Shizuru's eyes slightly widened in surprise. Macey rolled her eyes as she got in, "Gee, don't look so surprised. Yes, I can drive. Been knowing how since I was nine. Besides I told you yesterday I'm seventeen."

"Oh, right. I forgot; you look younger." the older woman hesitated before getting in slowly. Her calm mask was back in place by the time she put on her seat belt. The brown eyed girl brought the horses to life with a satisfied smile.

"Why do you ride your bike to school if you can drive?" the other asked curiously, eyes trying not to dart everywhere.

"With the prices of gas these days? And when you only get forty dollars a week. Besides I only live about five miles from school." she practically snorted as she backed out carefully. She glanced at Shizuru before putting it in drive, "Would you relax already? I've driven a hundred times before I'm not about to get in a wreck."

Shizuru nodded, though her ruby orbs stayed focused on the road ahead of them. The similarities between Natsuki and Macey were unnerving so far, and Shizuru could only hope they didn't drive the same. At least when they were on Natsuki's motorcycle she had the leisure of holding onto the biker girl. In a car there was on holding onto to someone or slipping between cars if they were going too fast to stop.

"So where is the hotel you're staying at?" the nearly distant sound of Macey's sighed, "Great. You don't mind if we stop by my house first do you?"

"Not at all." she shook her head. Much to Shizuru's delight Macey was following the speed limit and being a safe driver. This allowed her to relax a bit. Maybe twenty minutes later the silver vehicle pulled into the driveway of a yellow house on the outskirts of town. A green caravan was parked under the carport.

"Mommy's home." Macey pointed out the obvious to herself. Killing the engine she slipped out of the car quickly. The Kyoto native followed suit. A German Shepard ran up to the brown eyed teen happily wagging his tail. That is until he noticed the stranger, to him anyways, he started growling dangerously. Macey sighed, "Be a good boy, Spike. Please won't you be a good boy for me?"

She patted his head lovingly as he quieted down instantly. She smiled approvingly, "Such a good boy." she cooed. He barked in response, his tail wagging once more, before an American Eskimo came out of nowhere with a white rabbit in his mouth.

"What you go, Tundra?" she asked sweetly as she took the offered animal. He grinned up at her, proud of his catch. Spike made an attempt to snatch it, but Macey slapped his muzzle, "No, Tun caught it. He gets to keep it."

She gave it back to the shorter dog, who looked more like a wolf, and trotted off somewhere. The brown eyed half Cajun smiled, motioning for Shizuru to follow her into the house. Once inside another dog greeted them, this time a Chihuahua. Macey laughed, "Calm down, Pecan you act like you haven't seen me in years."

She stepped aside for the sturdy short hair whose coloring matched that of the nut he was named after run outside to tell everyone she was home. The dark green walls and red trim of the living room matched the green carpet and red furniture. Macey shut the door promptly kicking off her shoes, instructing, "Make yourself at home."

Shizuru also slipped off her shoes just as a woman walked into the living room wearing a pink tank top and blue jean shorts. Her eyes were very similar to Macey's though her short, reddish brown hair was different from the girl's, "You look like you slept at the hospital." she teased the teen in a Cajun accent that matched Macey's own accent.

"Ha ha." she rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Yeah that was really funny. This Shizuru." she introduced, "Shizuru this is my mother, Pamela."

"It's nice to meet you." her mother smiled, "Just call me Pam."

"You may call me Shizuru." the younger woman smiled back.

"Mommy, I'm going to have to miss school tomorrow to go to a party being hosted by one of Shizuru's coworkers." Macey informed, trying to distract her. Pamela turned to look at her oldest child, "That's fine, but I need you to watch Dylan and Kasidy tonight. You don't mind cooking, do you?"

"When do I ever mind?" Macey smiled though it seemed forced, "Why am I watching them?"

"Tim called." the brown eyed woman answered. Macey's face turned into a frown only for a second before a smile replaced it. It would seem Macey also knew how to wear a mask. Why didn't Shizuru notice before? Perhaps it was the lack of tea. Yes, that must be it.

"He wants to try to work things out." she explained. Macey's expression never changed as she nodded, "I hope it works out how you want it to."

With that she pivoted on her heels to walk out of the room. She came back moments later with some clothes in her hands, "If you want to freshen up you can use the bathroom."

Her voice didn't crack once and her eyes seemed to hide the pain she was feeling pretty well. They didn't dare speak the opposite of what her smile was saying, so they turned blank. That sounded like a good idea, "Yes, thank you."

"Your very welcome." she smiled a very small smile. Macey showed her where the bathroom was just before they heard her mother call throughout the house, "May, come help me with these sticks!"

"Coming!" she called back, "Slave driver." she whispered in a much lower tone, "Always wanting something." she complained as she closed the door behind her. Shizuru chuckled to herself at her friend's reactions. This week was going to be interesting. It didn't take her long to finish her shower. Once done she wondered outside, following the sounds of wood hitting wood to the backyard. Behind the house Macey was standing on a fallen log as her mom threw some chunks of wood to, though it looked more like at, her.

Upon realizing they weren't the only two out there anymore the brown eyed teen turned to face her. She smiled at her, "Glad to see you and Mom are the same size."

Indeed Shizuru was wearing one of Pam's purple t-shirts and a pair of black pants.

"Stop chit-chatting before I hit you with this one." her mother voiced from behind. This prompted a sarcastic bow from her daughter, "Yes, Master." she spoke in a low, hurried, yet sarcastic, tone. Suddenly the large piece of wood that had only a moment ago been in Pamela's hands was now making its way to Macey.

"Eep." the target squeaked as she spun to the side to narrowly dodge the object.

"Always so meant to me." she pouted, jumping off of the log since that was the last one. The short haired woman just waved her off without a word. She was about to walk off into the house when a growl stopped her in her tracks. Shizuru and Pam turned to the blushing girl, "What?" she asked slightly offended.

"Nothing." her mom shook her head in amusement, "It's just I was wondering when you were going to eat."

After that little scene and the two cleaned up, Pam now in a blue t-shirt and blue jeans; Macey in an orange sleeveless hoodie, black pants, and a black cap, the three of them went eat at the Chinese restaurant in town.

"This place has the greatest..." Macey was happily telling Shizuru when her voice tapered off. Curiously Shizuru's eyes traced Macey's gaze to a table where a man was sitting. The younger girl's eyes narrowed into slits, "Why is he here?" her words ice cold.

"He wanted to meet me for lunch." was the simple answer. Macey grumbled something under her breath about not bringing her Rodeo. She inhaled, exhaled to calm herself. Then her smile appeared, "Don't worry I'll play nice as long as he does."

A sigh escaped her mother's lips before they walked over to meet him. He stood up to greet Pamela with a smile, "Hey, Baby."

He was nearly two heads taller than the woman, wearing a gray shirt, brown boots, and blue jean pants. When he noticed the other two his smile nearly fell, "Why isn't she in school?"

Macey was about to say something about addressing her like she wasn't there and that it was none of his business, but her mother cut her off, "She had to help me with something."

"And you are?" he addressed Shizuru. She thought it was rude for him to ask for her name without giving up his, not that she showed it, "Fujino, Shizuru."

"I'm Pam's husband, Tim Liles." he informed, shaking her hand. His hazel eyes lingered longer than it should have, as did the eyes of the rest of the people in the business. She felt like slapping him, thankfully Macey intervened, "Why don't we go fix our plates?"

She caught a nearby waitress, "Can we get a coke, green tea, and two pairs of chopsticks?"

"Yes." she smiled before going off to get the requested items. Shizuru gave her a curious look while tilting her head slightly to the right, "Ara. I didn't know Macey could use chopsticks."

"Yep. I'm so talented I can even use my left hand to eat with them." she commented proudly. Once everyone was seated and eating Shizuru had to admit Macey knew how to use a pair of chopsticks as she showed off by eating her noodles with her left hand.

"Hey, Macey." Tim's voice drifted over to her.

"Hm?" she didn't bother looking at him. Shizuru heard Pam mumble an, "Oh, no."

"What's wrong with using this?" she glanced over at him to see he was holding us his fork to clarify just what 'this' was. She finished slurping her noodle into her mouth, "Nothing. I use one at home all the time. What's wrong with being cultural?" she countered calmly. He just shook his head, "Nothing."

The rest of the thirty minutes spent eating was filled with tension between the teen and the man. Tim paid for the meal, reluctantly. Outside Pamela announced she was going somewhere with Tim to talk things over. That meant Macey would drive home in the minivan, cook dinner, and wait for her mother to get home before dropping Shizuru off at her hotel.

"This day is going by so slowly." Macey sighed as she slipped into the driver's seat tiredly.

"I agree." Shizuru nodded before changing the subject, "Do you have anything to wear for tomorrow?"

"I don't own a dress if that's what you're asking." the shorter girl smiled as she pulled out onto the road. That's when she noticed a glint in the older girl's eyes. The cheese lover let out a groan, switching lanes, "I hate shopping."

Pulling into the parking lot of a mall that was about thirty minutes away from the small town Macey let a semi-horrified expression cross her face. She contemplated turning around, but Shizuru was already out the van. Maybe she could leave the older girl there. No, she wasn't that mean, was she? Taking the keys out of the ignition she led the way into the building. Upon making it inside everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the two, well mainly Shizuru. Macey shifted uncomfortably under the stares.

"Come on." Macey ushered the crimson eyed woman. Unfortunately for her Fate decided to play a joke on her.

"Macey!" she heard a familiar voice call her name. Both girls turned to see a boy in his late-teens walking towards them. His brown hair swaying slightly and his blue eyes smiled at them. He draped his arm around Macey's shoulders, successfully pulling her into a semi-headlock.

"What do you want, Devon?" she asked in clear annoyance. Her shoulders hung as best they could.

"Who's your friend?" he eyed Shizuru careful to take in every detail. Seeing the shorter girl handled this way bothered Shizuru for some reason. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like she had known the girl her whole life. It was one of those friendships that just clicked right away.

"You can't ask her yourself?" the brown eyed girl retorted, though she answered anyway, "Her name is Shizuru."

"Shizuru, huh?" he echoed thoughtfully. Macey snorted, "That's what I said. Now let me go."

Devon seemingly ignored the teen under his grasp as he directed his next comment at Shizuru, "So you got plans tonight?"

"Actually." she began to answer, pulling Macey to her side, "We have something planned tonight." Well it wasn't exactly a lie. They knew how the rest of their day would be, thanks to Macey.

"Then tomorrow?" man he was persistent. The oldest of the three had to keep herself from twitching in annoyance. Shizuru shook her head, "I'm sorry, but we have a date tomorrow night."

"What?" the other two asked in surprise. Both of their mouths were ajar at the declaration. Macey's face was as bright as Rudolph's nose while Devon just stared at her, "I'm sorry. I didn't kn-"

"Me neither." Macey cut him off pulling her cap over her face as best she could. She grabbed Shizuru's wrist roughly dragging the older girl towards a nearby clothing store. The crimson eyed beauty waved back at the boy clad in green, smiling.

Five dresses and three shirt/skirt outfits Macey was trying on her sixth dress, and hoped it would be the last. Shizuru was sitting in one of the chairs provided for people waiting for other people to finish dressing. Passersby were glancing at her ever so often, hoping she would leave the teen in the dressing room and they'd have a chance.

"Do I have to come out?" came a while from Macey's room.

"Yes." Shizuru answered curtly. Over their short visit the chestnut haired woman had learned that Macey was very self-conscious about her body and didn't like things that showed off her figure. Of course those were just the kind of outfits Shizuru had picked for her. So now Macey was going to have to come out wearing the dress or in her underclothes cause Shizuru had her other clothes neatly folded next to her chair. The clicking sound of the door handle turning made Shizuru look up. Everyone stopped to stare, but this time at the teen stepping out from behind the door instead of the Kyoto native.

All the looks made the girl clad in a red form fitting dress blush deeply. The v-neck dress's sleeves stopped at her elbows, the dress itself falling to her ankles with a slit in the right side that went up to her thigh. Feeling uncomfortable under the stares, she turned her head to the side, causing her soft hair to pool over her shoulders.

"Ara. Macey's face is as red as her dress." Shizuru teasingly smiled with her closed. Macey side glanced at her, but didn't say anything about the teasing, "Can I change now? I fell... awkward."

"Of course." the other nodded handing her the pile of clothes. Without a word the dirty blonde haired girl walked back into the room to change. Moments later she came back out, happily in her regular clothes. Shizuru took the dress from her, "I rather like this one."

Macey rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but you don't have to wear it."

Shizuru just smiled at her as they made their way to the cash register. When Shizuru took out her wallet from her purse Macey grabbed her wrist, "What are you doing?"

"Paying for it?" Shizuru blinked, wondering if she had done something wrong.

"You don't have to. I can pay for it." she never did like charity and she wasn't about to start now. Crimson eyes smiled, "Think of it as a thank you for yesterday."

The teen pouted, but excepted the explanation. As they walked out the store Shizuru said something that made Macey blanch, "Now for the shoes."

Finally being able to go home an hour later Macey was greeted with two kids waiting for her on the porch.

"Mabey's home!" the girl with short red hair and hazel eyes exclaimed happily. She tackled the older girl into a hug while the boy just put his hands on his hips, "Where have you been? What took you so long? And who's she?"

"None of your business, none of your business, and none of your business." she answered before Shizuru smiled, "My name's Shizuru. You must be Dylan, correct?"

"Y-yes." the twelve year old blushed at her stare. Macey unlocked the door, kicked off her shoes, and walked to the kitchen.

"What to cook? What to cook?" Macey opened the refrigerator. Her voice made its' way to the living room, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

"Three cheese taco salad!" the children cried. Macey tapped her chin, "Yeah, alright. Easy enough."

Her little sister entered the girl's domain, "Mabey I'm hungry now."

"You want some cereal, Kasidy?" Macey smiled at her. Kasidy nodded, "Yes, please."

Macey fixed her some cereal before pulling a pot out of the cabinet. Soon Dylan was sitting at the table eating cereal with his younger sister, both watching TV.

"Mabey?" Shizuru quizzed in amusement. Macey nodded slowly, taking the ground beef out of the freezer, putting it in the heating pot, "When she was little she couldn't say Macey and she has yet to."

She continued to work, chopping tomatoes and stirring the meat. Shizuru couldn't help but think Macey reminded her of a busy mother. After the two younger siblings finished off their snack they decided to bother Shizuru with questions about why she was with their sister and couldn't pass up the chance to tell stories about said sibling.

"Macey?" Dylan ventured when he went to grab some cokes out the fridge, "Where's Mom?"

He seemed almost nervous of her answer. She asked softly, "Where do you think she is?"

"With _**him**_ again?" he growled. Macey nodded as her answer. He sighed in anger, "This is so stupid."

He stormed off back into the living room to hand out the cokes. Kasidy took it slowly, "Is something wrong, Brother?"

"Mom's with Tim again." he seethed. She looked down at the homework on the coffee table, "Oh."

"You three don't like him?" Shizuru wanted confirmation. Dylan nodded, "He's an asshole."

"Dylan, I told you not to curse." Macey scolded from the threshold connecting the dining room and living room. He whirled around to face her, "But he is and Mom's too stupid to see that!"

"It doesn't matter it's her decision to make." she shook her head.

"What about us? You're seventeen, Macey! You should be out with your friends, not taking care of _**her **_kids!" he couldn't control his temper, "You're more of a mother to us than she is!"

"You shouldn't say that." Macey turned from them, "Food's ready."

"It's true though." Kasidy sighed, following her peeved brother to the table where the food awaited.

"This is really good." Shizuru complimented. It was excellent in fact. Macey gave her an embarrassed smile, "I'm glad you like it."

"It's the best." Dylan grinned, "You should also try her roman noodles."

"Yep. Mabey makes it best." Kasidy agreed, "Mom can't even cook it the way she does."

"It seems you two hold your sister in high regard." Shizuru smiled at them.

"Of course. She's like our second Mother." Kasidy smiled brightly at her older sister.

"More like our only Mother." Dylan muttered. The rest of the meal was spent in silence, after which their homework was finished with the help of the older girls. At eight she made them take a bath and they watched TV until ten when it was time for bed.

"Good night, Momma-" Dylan shook his head at his slip, "Macey, good night Macey. Love you."

"Good night, little brother. I love you, too." she closed the door behind her. She walked into Kasidy's room to tuck her in, even though the girl was eleven. She pulled the covers over her, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, "Good night, Kat. I love you."

"Good night, Mommy. And love you, too." Macey walked out with a soft sigh, closing the door. She went back into the living room where Shizuru was sitting on the couch. Macey plopped down beside her.

"Is today a normal day in the life of Macey?" Shizuru teased lightly.

"Yep." Macey stared up at the ceiling, "And the worst part is I don't know if it's unfortunate or not."

At ten thirty Pamela came home to find a mask bearing Macey smiling at her. By eleven thirty the Rodeo had made it to Shizuru's hotel.

"This has got to be the fanciest hotel I've ever been in." Macey awed at the building, "They usually don't let my kind in through the front door." Shizuru chuckled to herself at the statement.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked politely. Macey shook her head while trying, but unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn, bringing her hand to her mouth. Shizuru looked at her with concern-filled eyes, "Ara. Macey shouldn't drive if she's tired. She could wreck on her way home."

"I guess." she conceded. Why was she so tired? The more she thought about it the more she blamed that darn love seat at the hospital. She pulled out her phone to call her mother inform her of the change in plans.

"Thank you for letting my stay." she took off her shoes and sat on the sofa. The room was so spacious, though it only had one bed.

"This place is awesome. It even has a kitchen." Macey looked around from her vantage point. Shizuru smiled at her before leaving to change in the bathroom. When she came back the teenager was already out of it on the sofa. The crimson eyed woman chuckled to herself at the sight. Turning out the lights she went to bed herself.

"Hey, Princess, wake up." Shizuru heard a familiar voice prompt her from her sleep. The husky voice sighed, "Shizuru, get out of bed."

Wait a minute, that voice sounded very familiar. Her red orbs were revealed to see green ones staring back at her.

"Finally. Did that ball last night tire you out that much?" she teased, "I would imagine since you wouldn't let Macey off of the dance floor."

Shizuru was pretty sure she wearing an expression that read, 'what?'. Natsuki laughed at her expression before the older girl finally found her voice, "Natsuki, what are you doing here? How do you know, Macey? And why are you wearing such funny clothes?" She pointed out the things that seemed unusual to her. The cobalt haired girl didn't seem to notice the strange differences as she answered, "I live here, she's my sister, and I always wear these clothes."

True her blue blouse and black pants weren't that unusual, but the black boots, and the fact that they looked like something out of the middle ages made them funny looking to Shizuru. She was so absorbed in the fact that Natsuki had just declared Macey her sister that she didn't notice the stone walls around her.

"Your sister and you do?" why was she so stuck on the clothes. She should be more interested about the former not the latter. Natsuki gave her a funny look before calling, "Macey, did you let her drink anything besides tea?"

"No, why?" Macey walked into the room wearing an outfit very similar to Natsuki's with the exception of a white blouse with long sleeves. She seemed different somehow.

"She's asking stupid questions." was the response. The dirty blonde shook her head, "I didn't see her drink anything other than tea."

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked worriedly, placing a hand on her forehead. "You feel fine." she reported, taker her hand away. She brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully, staring deeply into crimson eyes. She then smiled and kissed Shizuru's lips softly. Natsuki rolled her eyes while Shizuru's eyes went wide with surprise. It felt surprisingly soft and tender; it felt... right. The ringing of a bell broke the kiss.

"Damn! Come on before we're late." the Ice Queen tugged on the other girl's sleeve. She nodded, "Right."

"See you later, Shizuru." she announced before the two ran out of the room as fast as possible.

Shizuru's eyes flew open, sitting up in bed. Her hand touched her lips softly. She looked around and found the girl still on the sofa. Her arm and leg was hanging off the edge with her mouth slightly a gap. Nor was Natsuki anywhere around.

* * *

Omake:

Some random dude: Have you seen my rabbit?

Macey: About a foot tall, white with a gray tail?

SRD: Yep, you saw it!

Macey: (glancing at the animal Tundra was munching on) No, sorry.

* * *

Chapter 4 revised


	6. The Party

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime or any of their characters. I only own the characters I made for this story.

Summery: Shizuru goes on a business trip to America, where she meets a girl strangely like Natsuki. Who is this new friend and what role will she play in the former Hime's life? Shiznat

To clarify after this chapter Natsuki will be in every chapter full force.

Shizuru's New Friend

Chapter Five: The Party

There Shizuru sat, pondering her dream as she watched the only other person in the room sleep. The teen slept happily mumbling something about ice cream as she tried to eat her hat. Crimson eyes kept watch over her until they switched to the bright green numbers of the alarm clock. Almost three in the morning and she had to wake up at seven. Shizuru laid down still thinking about her two friends who had never met before, but were sisters in that strange dream. It was official, Shizuru was confused. This was not a good sign considering she was hardly ever considering she was hardly ever confused. Closing her eyes slowly the chestnut haired woman found sleep fairly easily.

In the darkness that surrounded her mind Shizuru could hear two very familiar voices. "Give my my sword back, Natsuki!" the childish voice whined.

"Not until you get me more ammunition." came the husky reply. _Natsuki... _she thought as her eyes opened to her bright surroundings. In the middle of a garden on the stoned pathway a smirking Natsuki was keeping an annoyed Macey at bay with one hand on her forehead. In her other hand was a sword in a black hilt.

"Shizuru, tell her to give it back. She listens to you." the younger of the two continued to whine.

"Ara, are. I am sorry, but I have learned to not intervene when Natsuki is this way." Shizuru heard herself reply in amusement. She looked around until she spotted a chestnut haired girl that looked strangely like herself sitting on a bench not far from the other two. She brought her cup up to sip her tea slowly. Macey shot her an annoyed glance before crossing her arms with a huff, "I wasn't the one who used all your bullets. It's not my fault Shizuru can't hit a target."

"You shot my gun?" the cobalt haired young woman stared at her best friend with an accusing gaze. The kimono clad woman smiled at her innocently, "With help from your dear sister, of course."

"Macey." Natsuki hissed, but her younger sister was already at the door. Upon hearing her name she flung open the door and ran inside.

"When I get my hands on you!" the older girl promised as she ran after her.

"They can be so childish, nay?" the girl sitting on the bench quizzed. Her gaze wondered to the other girl that looked remarkably like herself. (A/N: For the sake of not confusing anyone, including myself, Shizuru is going to be the Shizuru we know and DreamShizuru is going to be the Shizuru in the dream.) Shizuru returned the gaze calmly, "Why am I having these dreams?"

"Natsuki was right, I do avoid questions." DreamShizuru observed.

"It would seem." the other agreed with a slight hint of annoyance. Catching this the dream version of the tea lover sighed, "Ara. These are not your dreams, but my memories."

"Memories?" Shizuru echoed. DreamShizuru nodded, "I believe they are called part lives. You should ask Macey about them, I'm sure she could explain them to you. She is a smart girl after all."

"I'm afraid I must leave now. Our time has run out." her dream self brought her out of her thoughts and into darkness.

"Shizuru, time to wake up." someone was shaking her gently, "Come on, wakey, wakey."

Her red eyes fluttered open to meet a pair of brown orbs staring at her. Next she was greeted with a smile, "It's seven thirty. I was about to fix breakfast, but I figured you'd want to take a bath first."

Shizuru sat up slowly, "That would be nice."

"I would've woke you up sooner but I had to call Dylan to make sure they were up and I took a bath." Macey commented as she stood up.

"Ookini." Shizuru smiled at her, standing to go to the closet to grab some clothes.

"Do itashi machite." the other girl replied. The words sounded funny with the girl's accent causing Shizuru to chuckle at her for a moment.

"What?" she asked looking away to hide her blush.

"Your accent." was the reply much to Macey's annoyance. Brown eyes were rolled to further assert her annoyance, "Whatever. Like you don't have one."

"True." Shizuru conceded as Macey walked over to the kitchen, "However mine is alluring whereas yours is cute."

"Alluring?" Macey sounded amused, "Who told you that?"

Shizuru pouted, "Ikezu."

"Yeah, yeah." she waved off the comment. She took out the frying pan and a mixing bowl. Shizuru disappeared into the bathroom; when she reentered the main suite wearing a black skirt and a tan blouse the aroma of cinnamon assaulted her. It was a sweet smell that filled the entire room. Following her nose, she saw Macey setting the table. There were two plates of scrambled eggs along with a couple of slices of toast at each an end of the table. A glass of milk by one plate and a cup of green tea beside the other.

"Come. Sit." she smiled eagerly. She was ready to eat and it was evident. She sat down in front of one plate that had an oddly familiar scent to it. As soon as Shizuru realized why that was she tried not to let her eyebrow twitch. Really had she found Natsuki's long lost sister, or maybe she was a clone of some sort.

"Itadakimasu!" the younger girl exclaimed holding up her fork, ready to stab the poor defenseless, mayo covered eggs; but stopped mid-strike when she felt the crimson eyes on her.

"What?" she asked nervously. Shizuru shook her head before sitting down to her own meal. After inspecting her own eggs she found they had a touch of cinnamon added to them.

"Something wrong?" Macey asked from across from her. Her toast had already vanished and her eggs were being mercilessly devoured. The Kyoto native brought a small portion of eggs to her mouth cautiously making the dirty blonde haired girl to roll her eyes. Upon chewing carefully she discovered they weren't that bad at all.

"The cinnamon adds a sweet flavor to the starchiness of the eggs." Macey stated with a knowing smile before finishing off her milk.

"Are you trying to become a chef?" Shizuru questioned half teasing, half serious. Macey just shook her head, "Only experimenting. Lucky for me I have a sister that'll try anything." she laughed.

"I like trying new things now and then. It keeps life interesting." she added after a moment of silence. It took a while for the older of the two to finish off her plate, so the younger girl busied herself by staring at a painting in the room. Well actually it was the only painting in the room; at least it was a nice one. The waterfall surrounded by lush forest with a lone wolf howling at the full moon gave off a serene vibe.

"You like paintings?" a certain Kyoto think voice broke through the calm of the girl's mind.

"Yeah." she nodded as if in a daze. Most of her focus was on the wolf, "Didn't you say your friend Natsuki likes wolves?"

"I did." the other confirmed, wondering where the girl was going with this. Macey nodded again, "Wolves are cool. It's kind of funny how they pretend not to need others."

Shizuru eyed the American teen curiously, what was she trying to get at? Just like that Macey was out of her daze and smiling once more, "So where is this party at?"

"I believe in Nacogdoches." she answered thoughtfully.

"What?" the dirty blonde haired girl shrieked, "That's nearly two hours from here."

When Shizuru just smiled at her pleasantly Macey sighed, "Do you know where the place is?"

"Not really." was the reply through that ever present smile. A dirty blonde eyebrow twitched from irritation. She felt like banging her head against something, namely the wall. She soon dismissed the idea; after all she didn't want to have to pay for damages done to it.

"Then we should leave now." she sighed, not even trying to hide her annoyance. What annoyed her even more was that stupid smile was still plastered on Shizuru's face.

"If Macey says so." she chirped. Man it was fun to get on the girl's nerves, maybe a little too fun.

"Note to self: Stop giving Shizuru green tea. It makes her act... loopy." Macey mumbled to herself as an overly cheerful, in Macey opinion anyway, Shizuru followed her to the Rodeo. Once inside the driver of the truck hit her head against the steering wheel, "He's almost out of gas."

"He?" the ruby eyed woman quizzed raising a single slender brow. The brown eyed girl chose to ignore her by turning on the truck. Being too preoccupied earlier with her dreams Shizuru hadn't taken notice of the girl's change of clothes, now being clad in an orange t-shirt and black shorts. This of course prompted the question, "Where did you get those clothes?"

"The trunk." she answered quit curtly as she pulled into a Shell station. In response to the funny look Shizuru was giving her she added, "I've learned to travel prepared."

Not wanting to hear a teasing remark she quickly excited the car as soon as it was stopped. Ten minutes later they were back on the road and on their way to the big party. Each female lost in their own thoughts. Shizuru thinking of Natsuki and her dreams, while Macey was planning the 'accidental' destruction of her dress. After fifteen minutes of silence Shizuru broke it, "When did you start having those dreams?"

"What are you a psychiatrist?" Macey rolled her eyes once more. Shizuru just stared at her until Macey sighed, "When I was somewhere between four and five after my uncle died. I never know when or where until they start happening. Some are days apart, for some years past before they happen."

"I see." she nodded in understanding. She cupped her chin in her hand thoughtfully, but before she could really think on it the teen decided to keep talking.

"No, you don't." Macey spoke in a slightly cold tone. The sudden change in mood caught Shizuru off guard, not that the other girl noticed as she continued to speak, "They started and now they won't stop coming and Mom doesn't want me talking about it because it makes me sound crazy. As if people don't already think I'm crazy." she scoffed before muttering to herself, "Like that's my main problem anyways."

Oh crap, did she say that out loud. "What is your main problem?" Apparently so. _Stupid venting._ Macey mentally slapped herself, _Why is my life so messed up. Someone must really dislike me._

"It's nothing for Shizuru to worry about." she stated with a much more cheery tone. The crimson eyed beauty gave her a look that clearly said she didn't believe her causing the russet eyed girl to sigh, "I get these, um... urges, I guess you could call them."

_ Urges?_ Shizuru thought to herself. This conversation could go a number of ways. None of them were really that good. It took a few moments for Macey to answer in a whisper, "I sometimes think of hurting myself, but I can't because Dylan and Kasidy, they need me too much to do something so stupid."

Her blood red orbs filled with worry and concern for the teenager next to her. Laughter suddenly filled the car, "Gee, I just told you I'm suicidal and dream of future events. Sometimes the truth sucks."

Her laughing fit over Macey stated, "Then again I'm not the only one that knows how to wear a mask, eh Shizuru?"

That smile she's used a thousand times before spread across her visage, "I suppose."

"I'm guessing Natsuki is part of that reason, but it's none of my business." she smiled knowingly, "I was in love once, or maybe I still am. I realized it too late."

"What happened?" Shizuru sounded like a child on the edge of her seat thanks to the air that was filled with suspense.

"I moved before I could even think of telling him. I haven't seen him in five years." she answered honestly. Shizuru wasn't sure why but Macey reminded her of a little kid that was too trusting for her own good. Then before she knew it she was speaking, "It hurts to wait for her, but it hurts to leave as well."

Wait, why was she telling her this? It did feel kind of good to get it off her chest, but still she shouldn't be telling the teen these kind of private things.

"Love will do that to you." Macey stated matter of factly.

"Do you know about past lives?" the other asked quite bluntly. Macey blinked twice at the sudden question before nodding, "They're lives people have lived before the one they're currently in. This happens when the body dies, but the soul is left to be born once more into another body. All the memories of that life is suppressed by the new one. Most past lives stay because they've lost something dear to them."

The teen took a short pause to let all this sink in before she continued, "Some people have dreams about their past lives, which in turn are actually memories. They can either be living in the memory or just simply watching. Many people think that they are a part of their past lives so this life should turn out like the last one, but that isn't the case. Past lives are a part of us, not the other way around. They may look, sound, and even act like us, but we're completely different people."

"You really do read too much." Shizuru teased. The rest of the ride was spent in a comfortable silence. After taking three wrong turns they pulled up to a huge three story mansion.

"This place is huge." Macey's mouth was ajar in pure awe. Shizuru seized the moment to get in a teasing remark, "Is Macey trying to catch flies?"

As soon as the comment left her lips the teen's jaw clamped shut, her face turning a nice shade of pink. This prompting a chuckle from the ruby eyed young woman. Outside of the car Shizuru started walking towards the house, but was stopped in mid-stride by the girl still standing next to her precious car, "Shizuru."

The Kyoto native turned to face her with a smile letting the other know she could continue, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" now it was her turn to look perplexed. Macey's eyes stayed on the ground, "For telling you those things. They're not your problems to worry about."

Red orbs softened as she walked over to the girl. She looked like a puppy that had been abandoned by her master and came crawling back with her tail between her legs. Her brown eyed gaze stayed on the ground until she was pulled into a hug, "That's what friends are for."

"Yeah, friends." she mumbled into the other girl's shoulder. The moment was broken by a voice behind them, "Ahem."

Both girl's looked over Shizuru's shoulder to see Saki watching them with her arms crossed.

"Hello, Saki-san." Shizuru greeted with a polite smile, though her grip on the girl, whose blood was rushing to her face, didn't slacken in the slightest. Saki nodded, trying oh so hard not to glare at the older woman, "Hello, Shizuru-san, Macey."

"So formal already, Saki-san." Shizuru observed with a hint of annoyance.

"So possessive already, Shizuru-san." Saki snickered as they started a glaring contest. This did not look good at all from a certain third party's point of view.

"Um, excuse me." Macey drew attention to herself, "I'm still here." she waved her arms in the air frantically to prove that she hadn't disappeared during their short conversation. Finally the brunette let go of the shorter girl, who now wore an irritated expression on her face. Her brown eyed gaze darted from one girl to the other with evident annoyance before she walked pass them to the house. Her face turning red as her stomach let out a growl of hunger. The sound of the other two giggling behind her didn't help the blood rush any. It only made her face turn a darker shade.

"Come in. You can join us for lunch." Saki smiled at her. She took the dirty blonde haired girl's hand and led into the house with Shizuru close behind to keep an eye on them. More importantly on Saki. They slipped their shoes off at the door, and at Saki's request two more places were set for their guest. Macey was failing to hide her excitement when she saw she would be eating traditional Japanese food. They were served curry rice, fukujinsuke, akamiso, and sencha.

"Itadakimasu." could be heard around the table before everyone picked up their chopsticks to eat. Shizuru wasn't sure why but she was proud of the teen sitting next to her that seemed to know exactly what to do with what dish. Heck she almost forgot the russet eyed girl wasn't from Japan. Without missing a beat at the end of the meal Macey smiled happily, "Gochisoosama deshita."

"So, Macey what kimono are you going to wear for the party?" Saki asked politely.

"Kimono?" she echoed like a parrot, "Shizuru, you never-"

"Ara. Did I forget to mention that?" she smiled all too innocently for Macey's likeing. This was not a good sign for the teen; and just when she figured out a way to get out of wearing that dress. She started pouting subconsciously as she tried to remember why she had agreed to come to this party in the first place.

"Not to worry. I have one for you." Shizuru assured the teen before she took her hand in her own to lead her to one of the guest bedroom.

"What? When? I mean, what about that dress?" she frantically fumbled to form a complete question that was more than one word long.

"I had my driver deliver it here." she explained, "The dress was because Macey said she didn't own one."

"That was a waste of money." the girl being pulled along mumbled to herself. It's not like she was going to wear it anytime soon.

"What was that?" crimson eyes fell on her menacingly.

"Nothing." she squeaked with a nervous grin. Suddenly they stopped in front of a door causing Macey to shudder slightly. She didn't like where this was going. Shizuru opened the door and led her in. There was a box sitting on the bed being shot death glares at by a certain teenager with long dirty blonde hair. Opening the box she saw an orange kimono with leaves of the Japanese maples on it.

"It's beautiful." she commented, but then as Shizuru made her way back to the door she whined, "Shizuru."

"Yes?" she turned around with that overly innocent smile plastered on her face once more. The poor girl's eyes were pleading, "I don't know how to put this on."

"Really? I thought..." she trailed off in a voice that mocked innocence while an impish grin turned the corners of her mouth upward. Macey sent her that 'yeah right' look before looking back at the kimono in the box, "Don't make me say it."

"Say what?" she was trying so hard not to laugh at the frustrated teen before her. Macey's eye twitched and she was ready to pull out her hair. She took a deep breathe to calm herself for what she was about to do. She then asked in a low voice, "Could you help... I can't believe I'm doing this. Could you help put it... on?"

The face she was making suggested those words hurt her physically to say them. Shizuru had to bring her hand to her mouth as she chuckled to herself. The now blushing teen snapped, "It's not funny."

Unfortunately this only encouraged the laughter. Once the laughter died down Shizuru spoke up, "It's Macey's fault for being so cute when she pouts and blushes."

Macey puffed out her cheeks childishly, crossing her arms with a huff. That's when Shizuru came up behind her, "Forgive me." she requested as she wrapped her arms around the girl's waist almost reflexively.

"No." she answered stubbornly.

"Hai." Shizuru sighed, letting go of the teen. She turned around and started once more for the door, counting down in her head mentally. Right on cue Macey voice could be heard, "Wait." she gritted her teeth, "Fine. Just help me out."

Shizuru just turned around to answer her with an impish grin. _What have I done?_ Macey gulped. She didn't like this smile one bit.

"Strip." she ordered quite seriously.

"What?" the younger of the two squeaked.

"You can't wear that shirt and those shorts under the kimono." the chestnut haired young woman explained. Macey nodded slowly, "Um, right."

The brown eyed girl hesitantly took off her hat followed by her shirt then her shorts to reveal her black lace undergarments, and a scar running vertically from her belly button down. Upon remembering their conversation in the car Shizuru reached out, and ran her finger along it causing the girl to jump back with a giggle, "Stop that!"

Shizuru took note that her shorter friend was ticklish, saving it in the back of her mind for later use. Now she wanted to know just exactly how she got the scar in the first place.

"How did Macey get such a scar?" her voice was laced with interest. Macey shrugged as if it were nothing and to her it was, "I had my appendix removed. No biggie."

"I see." she nodded in a relieved fashion, glad that the girl hadn't done that herself. The dirty blonde haired teen took the kimono out of the box, "So, what goes where?" she asked to change the subject. Shizuru didn't say anything about it but instead started helping the Cajun into her kimono. Once the whole process was over Macey spun around once, "How does it look?"

"It looks great. It seems to be a bit long though." the other answered thoughtfully before fixing it so it didn't seem so long on the short teen. Shizuru then handed her a pair of zori and tabi to put on. The teen did so as the crimson eyed woman went put on her own purple kimono adorned with flowers and leaves.

"I'm bored." Macey sighed from her seat on the bed, "We still have an hour to kill."

"If you didn't drive so fast to get here." Shizuru stated matter of factly. She then smiled mischievously, "Or were you in a hurry to see Saki-san?"

"No." she blushed from the accusation, "I just like speed. I don't like driving slowly."

Shizuru chuckled lightly at the girl's outburst. Though it would seem she found another similarity between her best friend and her quick friend. Part of her wished they weren't so similar, but another part of her was glad for the familiarity. Falling back onto the bed with soft thud Macey sighed. Her life had truely taken a much different path than she thought it would. She smiled happily despite her attempts to look annoyed. Even if it was only for a few days life, for once, was interesting. Unfortunately for the dirty blonde haired teen for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction; meaning where there's excitement, there's annoyance.

A moment later Saki burst through the doors all too happily. She ignored Shizuru as she made her way to the teen on the bed. Immidiately taking the russet eyed girl's hand in her own, before she could protest Saki began talking, "I want to show you around my home."

"But I-" she started voice, but was cut off by the dark eyed girl, "I insist."

She grinned back at the girl broadly as she continued walking, and dragging her hostage as Macey liked to think of herself. Shizuru followed behind them closely. The ruby eyed beauty disliked Saki and vice versa. She couldn't remember exactly why they seemed to hate each other. All she knew was that the two decided to be disgusted with the other on their first meeting. Neither of them tried to change the other's opionion, only trying to one up the other instead. Shizuru watched silently as Macey annoyance grew into interest as time pasted them by.

She seemed to like the paintings and stories of various objects around the mansion. She paid extra attention to legends, being fasinated by them so easily. Macey, though she had tried unsuccessfully to hide it, had enjoyed the tour. The only down part was when they went to the back yard where the family dogs were held. She had wanted to go play with them, but was held back by Saki saying it would damage her kimono. Closer to two Saki had to go change for the party herself, reluctantly leaving the two females alone. Once she was gone Shizuru turned her attention back to the girl, whose gaze was currently out the window watching the two labs play with each other.

"Did Macey enjoy the tour?" she asked though she knew the answer. She wanted to see what reaction she would get out of the girl.

"It was alright, I guess." Macey tried to play it off cooly even as excitement seeped into her words. She tore her gaze from the dogs outside to the other girl in the spacious room. Her happy eyes trumpted her bored smile, "It would have been better had I been able to play with the puppies."

Shizuru smiled at her in an amused fashion. The gradfather clock striking two filled the comfortable silence.

"Perhaps we should make our way to the common room?" Shizuru suggested lightly, while the only reply she got was a nod. The two made their way to room, taking only one wrong turn along the way. They walked at a slow pace thanks to the Kyoto native, though she couldn't wait to get her hands on a cup of tea. Macey was visibly getting frustrated beside her, but spoken nothing of it. Shizuru just watched with obvious amusement as the girl next to her started tapping her fingers against her legs anxiously. Finally after what felt like ages to Macey they made it to the living room, where many people were already gathered.

"I really dislike crowds." she whispered mainly to herself, though she spoke loud enough for Shizuru to hear her small complaint.

"Ara. Doesn't Macey have to deal with crowds at school?" the crimson eyed woman inquired glancing at the shorter girl. Macey nodded, then explained, "Yes, but there I can get in and out. Here I have no idea when I'll be getting out."

The strain in her voice was evident, but as they started talking to others a smile took over her visage. She spoke politely and acted like a perfect lady. It seemed so out of character for her, not that Shizuru was acting much different. She quickly took notice of how the teen knew when to speak, when to compliment, and how she knew exactly what to do to appeal to person she was speaking with. The party itself wasn't that bad. They served drinks and snacks, of course Macey was mainly getting snacks whenever she could. She had to sneak them behind Shizuru's back because of the unhealthy amount the teen wanted to consume. It was getting hard for her to do this and avoid Saki, but somehow she managed to do both things successfully.

Nearly four hours later and the party was starting to come to an end. While Macey was feeling the affects of smiling so much Shizuru was feeling the affects of drinking too much. Throughout the night she had been switching from tea to sake and back again. It had taken a while, but she was finally getting tipsy. Her speech was lightly slurred, and her face had a touch of pink to it. Her russet eyed companion had wisely stuck to water. They went back to the room from earlier to change back into their normal clothes. Thanks to her intoxicated mind Shizuru had to lean on Macey for support while they walked.

"I don't believe I've ever seen Macey smile so much." Shizuru stated as she slipped on her shirt.

"I think my face is stuck." the other responded having already been finished and was currently folding their kimonos. She massaged the sides of her face to relax the muscles and all at once her smile was gone. She let out a sigh of relief just before Shizuru made another druken observation, "Do you always look ready for Halloween?"

"Yes." came the snappish response followed by a blush, "I happen to like these colors."

Shizuru brought her hand to her mouth as she giggled, "Macey looks so cute when she blushes, just like Natsuki."

"That's nice. Why don't you keep thinking about Natsuki, and keep me out of any fantasies you might have about her." she stated as she placed the two kimonos into the box for easy transport. After Macey folded everything and brought it out to the car she had to go back for Shizuru. They told Saki and Ke-sama good evening and thanked them for the invitation to the party. The glaring contest between the two continued until Macey forcefully dragged Shizuru to the car to leave. After all she still had two hours of driving ahead of her, and with Shizuru like this it was going to be a long ride.

"I'm gonna have to stop for gas before we get back to Shreveport." Macey announced to no one in particular with minimal irritation. All this driving across Louisiana was not good for her budget.

"Are you mad?" Shizuru asked curiously eyeing the girl.

"Not really." she answered honestly, "I like traveling, so I don't mind the driving. I just wish I could get more miles to the gallon."

"Okay." she smiled childishly as she laid her head on Macey's shoulder. All Macey could wonder about was why the seatbelt wasn't holding her back. Damn things never worked when you wanted them to.

"Are you always this clingy when you drink?" she inquired taking one hand off the steering wheel to turn a curve.

"I don't know. I don't drink often." the fair haired young woman informed, "The last time I drank I was with Natsuki so I guess I was."

Halfway through the not so silent ride because of Shizuru, who knew she could talk so much when drunk, the former hime was drifting off. Macey was thankful for this development, at least until they got to the hotel. That's when Macey wanted to curse the effects of alchol when not so long ago they were her friend. After helping the older woman up to the room she dropped her on the bed, took off her shoes, and pulled the covers over her sleeping form. Once again she called home to say she'd be sleeping over at the hotel and made herself comfy on the couch. Sleep came surprisingly quick to her aching body.

Sometime during the night Shizuru stirred from her slumber to go to the bathroom. Upon coming out she found the teen curled up on the beige sofa. A smile had formed on her lips due to the pleasent dream she was having. Shizuru glided past her to return to bed, but found sleep wouldn't come. She felt cold all of a sudden, and it was a familiar cold. It was that lonely type of cold that grips at people who want so badly for someone to be next to them. She sat up slowly glancing over at the sleeping girl on the sofa. Deciding she didn't want this feeling anymore she walked over to the teen.

"Macey." she whispered as she poked the girl's arm causing her face to scrunch up in dismay for being disturbed. The dirty blonde haired girl tried to shoe the finger away but it didn't work.

"Come lay down with me." she requested in a continued whisper. She was surprised when the teen allowed her to lead her to the bed. Unbeknowst to Shizuru the request was one the girl had heard a thousand times before. So of course her fuzzy brain agreed without thinking about who it was making the request. Shizuru pulled the girl close to her and covered them with the blanket. The warmth of the other person drove the loneliness away to allow for sleep again.

A/N: But wait that's not all. Since I was gone for so long I decided to do a bit of a side story to elaborate on Shizuru's dreams. It will be through the view point of the past Shizuru, not this one. I might do this every time our favorite ex-kaichou has a dream of a memory. It depends on how you guys like this one. Hope you enjoy.

Side-story chapter one: The Meeting

I remember well the first time I laid eyes on Natsuki's younger sister. They were half sisters from what I learned from my best friend and personal bodyguard. She had told me the story of how her father had an affair with another woman that ultimately came to bare a child. My colbalt haired friend truely detested the girl for reasons I didn't understand. She had never met the young woman that resembled her a bit until she was hired by my father to be a guard. The russet eyed girl seemed nice enough when she walked into my chambers with a slight amount of hesitation in the standard green and brown uniform of the guards.

"Shizuru-sama." she bowed respectfully to me then to the younger woman standing next to me, "Natsuki-san."

"Macey-san." I greeted back with my usual calm smile from my seat with a cup of tea in my hands. I heard Natsuki grunt, but not reply. Her eyes didn't stay on me long for they had wondered to Natsuki. This intrigued me for not many people found it easy to look away from me.

"Natsuki-san, I know you don't like me," the emerald eyed woman snorted at the understatement, "but I think you should know that Father always talked about you when he visited. You should also know that I envyed how much you saw him compared to me. I always wanted to meet you even though I knew that would never happen. Now I wonder if I made the wrong decision by coming here. Unfortunately some mistakes can't be fixed so easily."

The sad tone was evident, along with a hint of an apologetic tone. She bowed once more to us before leaving the room silently. Once she was gone Natsuki walked over to bed, taking a seat and letting out a sigh.

"Perhaps you should give her a chance." I suggested before taking another sip of tea, "After all she isn't the one that committed the crime."

The blue and black clad officer waved her hand in the air, "I know."

"Then why do you blame her?" I pushed lightly. I didn't want her to get angry with me over something that seemed so trivial to me.

"I... don't know." she admitted slowly as if it pained her to do so. I took another sip of tea thoughtfully. I just may have had to intervene if Natsuki didn't take matters into her own hands. I was relieved to know that a couple of days after this event Natsuki had a proper conversation with the younger girl. When she came back from their meeting she was smiling lightly. Of course I teased her about it, but she just blushed without a word. She then began disappearing regularly to visit her sister. I began to feel lonely after some time so I started joining them in the garden.

Macey showed no sign of minding the extra company. Apparently I wasn't the only one feeling left out since Natsuki's faithful wolf, Duran, was nuzzling his master's arm for some attention. One day our meeting was disturbed by a guard running into the peaceful surroundings with news, "Patrol has spotted suspious activity near the south wall."

"Oi." Natsuki sighed as she stood up. My colbalt haired bodyguard motioned to me with her hand, "Watch her until I get back." she instructed the girl sitting on the ground next to me. The dirty blonde haired girl nodded as her half sister ran off with Duran at her heels. The sound of movement to my right caused me to turn my attention to the young woman that was now standing.

"It must be tiresome to keep that smile on after a while." she commented in a lazy tone. She stretched her arms a bit as she continued, "You know masks aren't meant to be woren all the time, no matter how pretty they are."

Did she just call me pretty or was she talking figurativly? I stared at her for a moment before smiling, "My aren't we the observant one."

"Being that way can mean the difference between life and death." she shrugged as if it were nothing. She held out her hand to help me up, so I took it. Once standing I dusted off my violet kimono. That's when we heard the twig snap. The sound of shuriken slicing through the air soon followed. I closed my crimson eyes in wait for the impact the never came.

Instead metal clashing against metal echoed in my ears. I opened my eyes slowly to see Macey standing in front of me with one of her swords drawn, and the three shuriken laying at her feet. Without warning more projectiles came, but this time from two different directions. Quickly she drew her other sword from its hilt to block the objects.

"Stay behind me and don't move." she instructed to which I obeyed. Trust me I did not feel like being used as target practice by these people. Macey switched the blade in her right hand into her left so she could pick up some of the fallen weapons. Her eyes darted everywhere until she threw the items in her hand at a clump of trees before blocking more with both her swords in one hand. Putting her sword back in her right hand, she swung her sword horizontally to return the fired projectiles. I heard a thud just before Natsuki came out through the doors with her pistols in her hands. That put a stop to the thrown objects thankfully.

Later we discovered there were two men firing at us that day. One got away, but the other was injured because of Macey. Though she suffered a small cut to the arm she laughed it off by saying she had been hit with worse. We learned the disturbance by the south wall was just a distraction for the real attack in the garden. The men hadn't known about Macey being there so it was a surprise for them. I tried to forget her words, but I couldn't. It was offical she had my full attention and interest.

I ponder for a long time what gave it away. After all it had taken Natsuki a while to realize I wasn't perfect like most believed I was, but it had only taken her a matter of days. I began stending more time with her to study her. I learned a few things by doing this. I learned she too wore a mask, though it wasn't for the same reason I did, I learned she could also shoot a gun almost as well as Natsuki, I learned she liked the piano, and I learned more things as time went on. I hadn't realized it until it was too late, what she was doing to me. You see during this time I learned that I had unexpectedly fallen in love with my best friend's little sister.

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Omake:

Macey: Natsuki was right Saki is weird.

Natsuki: Told ya.

Macey: (nodding) I should listen to you more.

Natsuki: HA! See Shizuru even the American says I should be listened to more.

Macey: (-_-) American? Was that supposed to be an insult?

Natsuki: You are an American. Why would it be an insult?

Macey: (Shrugs) It just felt like one.


	7. Going Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime or any of their characters. I only own the characters I made for this story.

Summery: Shizuru goes on a business trip to America, where she meets a girl strangely like Natsuki. Who is this new friend and what role will she play in the former Hime's life? Shiznat

Shizuru's New Friend

Chapter Six: Going Home

"Hi, Shizuru." Natsuki greeted with a smile that had been occurring quite frequently since the arrival of her younger sister. Her green robs fell to her lap.

"Hello, Natsuki." Shizuru smiled back warmly. Her eyes followed her best friend's gaze only to come to rest on the youngest of the three. Macey was sleeping with her head on her older sister's lap while Natsuki stroked her hair gently. Next to the two under the blooming cherry blossom was Duran laid out across the young woman with dirty blond hair.

"You seem to have grown attached to her quite quickly." the chestnut haired woman noted aloud. The cobalt haired bodyguard's smile just widened, "I suppose I have. I hated her for so long when in reality she hadn't really done anything to earn that hate."

A soft wind played with their clothes and hair as Shizuru opened her eyes. It took a moment for her eyes to get focused, but once they did she had to fight back the urge to jump out of the bed. There next to her Macey was still sound asleep. Her crimson gaze watched the other sleep for a moment in confusion. When did the teen get in the bed with her? On second thought, when did she get back to the hotel? As she tried to get back the memory she had lost last night a headache made itself known, bringing an end to her train of thought. A moment later brown eyes were staring off into space sleepily. The owner behind the eyes tried to sit up, but was quickly brought back to the bed by the restraints around her waist. A perplexed look crossing Macey's features, she turned around so she was facing the other girl, "Shizuru?"

The chestnut haired woman just stared back at her, "What happened?"

"You got drunk last night, so I brought you back to the hotel. Then I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up in the bed. So, you tell me." the dirty blond haired teen answered. When she received no reply she tried to get up once more. This time succeeding in her task. Sensing it was time to change the subject Macey quizzed, "So, when are you leaving for Japan?"

"Saturday." she answered shortly thanks to her throbbing head. Shizuru was glad for the change as she watched her temporary roommate make her way to the bathroom. Just as she reached for the doorknob she stopped suddenly. She changed her direction and left the room without a word. She left without her shoes, so Shizuru figured she'd be back soon. While the teenager with brown eyes was gone Shizuru took this time to reflect on what had happened.

It was nice to wake next to someone, though the girl wasn't her first choice. Maybe her second, then again she had never had a second before. She was still laying in the bed staring up at the ceiling when Macey came back with a bundle of clothes and a cup of green tea. Ruby orbs watched her as she placed the cup on the bedside table, "It should help with the hangover I'm sure you have."

"I'll be in the shower if you need me, but please don't." she joked lightly before disappearing into the bathroom. Soon the sound of running water filled the hotel room. She didn't take too long and once she was out, Shizuru was in. During her shower time she let the warm water run down her body as she searched her memory for what had happened last night. She remembered talking the poor girl's ears off on the ride back to the hotel. She talked about Natsuki right up until she fell asleep. What else was there? Her eyes closed slowly to welcome the darkness that lay behind her eyelids.

It was already hard to remember things, but her throbbing brain was making it worse. Finishing her shower quickly she stepped out of the bathroom in a tan skirt and blue blouse, only to be assaulted by the smell of cheese omelets. There on the table lay a plate with a cheese omelet and a couple of slices of toast on it. Resting next to the plate was a cup of green tea. A smile found its way to her lips; she could get use to having breakfast cooked for her every morning.

Sure when she was little she had servants to cook for her, but since her time at Fuuka she's had no such luck. Granted her cooking skills had improved over her years of no servants. She smiled fondly at the memory of Natsuki nearly burning down her dorm trying to cook. After that incident Mai never let her near the stove again, much to Natsuki's delight. Shizuru teased her to no end, that is until she was worried about the blood loss to her beloved's brain.

There was another plate filled with the same occupants at the other end of the table. Her crimson eyes did a quick sweep of the hotel room only to find she was the only one in the space of the surrounding four walls. She walked over to the table slightly confused about the absence of the other girl, but decided not to worry about it. Just as she sat down Macey burst through the door prancing around cheerfully.

"Ara." Shizuru smiled, "What is Macey so happy about?"

"Well," she licked her lips, stuffing her hands in her pockets, "they were out of mayo in the kitchen so I went to McDonald's to get some. They have the best mayo of all time." her brown eyes sparkled as she took blue and white packets out of her pockets. Holding out her hands of Shizuru to see, the other girl concluded there had to be at least twenty packets there. The older of the two was seriously considering the possibility of Macey being related to Natsuki in some form or fashion.

"Do you need so much?" she asked, already starting to feel the urge to gag coming on. Macey sighed over dramatically, "I wanted more, but after the third kid I sent in there they threatened to never let me go back again, so I had to leave with just these." She dropped them on the table, "Stingy people. They act like everyone asks for this stuff."

"Prehaps they are worried about your health." the fair haired woman offered to which the dirty blond haired girl shook her head, "It's not that. They just don't want to see me happy."

The brown eyed girl was now wearing a pout as she huffed into her seat. She opened ten packs to put the contents on the helpless omlet. With a low 'Itadakimasu' they started eating their meal. As usual Macey was finished first and started sucking the packets dry. While she was doing this a picture of Natsuki suddenly flashed into Shizuru's mind.

"So, what are we doing today?" the brown eyed teen broke through her train of thoughts.

"I have a meeting to attend today at twelve thirty." she informed before another peice of egg met its' doom.

"That's really close to lunch." Macey pointed out the obvious. She then smiled sheepishly, "I don't think I could concentrate because I'd be too busy thinking about what I was going to eat."

"Is food all Macey thinks about?" Shizuru chuckled lightly causing the other girl to blush from embarrassment, "N-no. I think about other things."

Shizuru just continued to smile at her. After her blood left her cheeks Macey spoke up, "So the day after tomorrow you'll be going back to Natsuki, eh?"

Burgundy eyes glanced up at her as she continued, "That's good. Can you tell her I said hi?"

"I believe Natsuki would have liked you." Shizuru stated, surprising not only Macey but herself as well. She hadn't meant to say that out loud, it just slipped. Being around the teen seemed to do that to her.

"Huh." the long haired teen didn't know what to say. Her mouth was ajar just a bit. This of course prompted a tease from the other girl, "Ara. Is Macey trying to attract flies again?"

Macey stuck out her tongue at her as her face lit up like a Christmas tree. This earned her another chuckle from Shizuru. After breakfast Shizuru left for her meeting while Macey sat on the couch. The meeting seemed to drag on forever to the Kyoto native, though she made sure to not let her calm composure. Upon returning to her hotel room the fair haired young woman let a smile of relief grace her features. For the second time that day her eyes once-overed the room, searching for her roommate.

She spotted the girl on the sofa, laying on her side in a peaceful slumber. Seeing an opportunity to mess with the girl Shizuru glided over to her silently. Stopping mid-reach to grab a lock of trio-colored hair she noticed a lone tear slide down Macey's face. Shizuru pouted lightly, so much for tickling her nose with her own hair. Not wanting to wake the girl, Shizuru lifted her head gingerly before sitting and placing the younger female's head on her lap.

"Mommy..." Macey whispered, gripping the other's skirt. This caught the wheat colored young woman off guard.

"Uh." burgundy eyes watched her thoughtfully as if pondering something. Her dream came back to her suddenly, helping with her decision. Deciding it wouldn't hurt anything a cream colored hand reached down to stroke the soft hair of the shorter girl. The action seemed to have some affect as the hand holding onto her skirt tightened its' grip.

"I'll be a good girl. Please just don't leave me." she begged softly. "I don't like being alone." she admitted quietly as another tear followed the first's trail. Shizuru leaned over to whisper into her ear, "I'm right here."

She kissed the girl's cheek lightly in hopes to calm her. Apparently it helped for the girl's grip loosened its' hold on the fabric. She looked like a small child to Shizuru, defenseless and innocent. A few minutes later Macey started to stir. Her eyelids fluttered open to reveal a pair of sleepy brown orbs. She rubbed her right eye tiredly. Suddenly her body stiffened when she felt something on her head.

"Shizuru?" she quizzed softly, "What are you doing?"

The older of the two smiled down at her, "Nothing."

"It doesn't feel like nothing." she pouted before trying to sit up. Unfortunately for her Shizuru's hand kept her in place. She glanced up at the older girl to see her ruby eyes had softened and she was wearing a sympathetic expression. Macey turned away from her, "I was talking, wasn't I? I probably said something stupid like hot fries and vanilla ice cream taste good together."

She let out a forced laugh before silence filled the room; neither knowing what to say. Both thanked whoever was listening when Macey's phone started ringing. Reaching over to the coffee table she flipped it open, "Hello?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just taking care of something." she answered the unheard question in a monotone. A blush found its' way to her cheeks as she huffed, "I don't have clients. That's your department."

She then sat up quickly surprising Shizuru. Her own surprise evident in her features and voice, "What? That's tomorrow! I thought that was next Friday. Yeah, yeah. I still don't see why I have to be there. I'm not part of the Student Council." She snorted at the comment the person on the other end of the line made, "Adviser my foot. You just want me there to make sure you don't fall asleep while Mrs. Lee is giving one of her speeches." The brown eyed girl finally sighed in defeat, "I guess I'll be there. Yeah, whatever."

She shut the phone without a goodbye, her eyebrow twitching slightly, "People are so needed." She then stood, stretching, "I better be going. I still have to get home and get ready for school tomorrow."

"Thanks again for making my life interesting for a few days." she grinned cheerfully at the young woman still sitting on the sofa. Shizuru got up to walk her to the Japan made vehicle.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again." the crimson eyed Kyoto native stated as Macey slipped into the driver's seat. Brown eyes looked at her smiling face curiously. Dirty blond hair swayed side to side as she shook her head slowly, "Perhaps."

With that Shizuru watched the speeding truck disappear from view before going back up to her hotel room. The smile she had been wearing widened into a mischievous one. If only the teen had seen it before she had left she may have taken heed to the older girl's words.

The next day started out pretty much normally for Macey. She put on her black slacks, sleeveless white button-up shirt, and black dress shoes. Her long hair was up in a bun with a pair of chopsticks holding it in place. Her backpack was resting against her leg while she was chatting with her friends. Suddenly a pair of arms snaked their way around her neck, taking the girl by surprise. The slender arms made her slump down so a chin could rest on her head. Surprise was soon changed to annoyance. Her two friends were staring at the newcomer in complete shock.

"Wait, don't tell me." Macey's eyebrow twitched, "Red eyes, chestnut hair, and a smile that most people would love to have directed at them."

LaKedrick, who was also wearing a business suit, and the dark haired girl nodded to confirm her statement to be true causing Macey to sigh, "Hello, Shizuru."

"Ara. Is Macey not happy to see me?" the ruby eyed young woman pouted.

"Technically I can't see you do that's not a valid question." the shorter girl stated in matter of fact tone before quickly adding, "Now could you please get off of me?"

It was too much of an opportunity for Shizuru to pass up and the next words she spoke came out suggestively, "That's not what you were saying the other night."

Immediately Macey's face turned a dark scarlet as her friends stared at her. LaKedrick opened his mouth, but Macey cut him off, "Say anything and I swear I'm skipping that stupid meeting."

The dark eyed teen shut his mouth, but was unable to contain the grin that was tugging at his lips. It was a sly and mocking smile that drove the girl nuts. She grabbed the chestnut haired woman's wrist roughly to drag her away from her friends. Shizuru smiled and waved to the two teens they had left dumbfounded.

"What are you doing here, Shizuru?" she asked once they were in the main building. Before the older girl could respond Macey eyed her suspiciously, "Are you a stalker?"

The burgundy eyed female didn't seem affected by the accusation at all as she answered with a smile, "Of course not. I am here for the company. We are looking for fresh, young minds to employ."

"Oh." Macey blinked dumbly, her posture dropping slightly. She then stood up straight and pointed down a separate hallway, "The office is at the end of the hall."

The bell rang to signal the start of first period prompting the teen to leave.

"Ara. Is Macey not going to show me around?" Shizuru quizzed with a saddened pout. Macey glanced at her over her shoulder, and in her best Shizuru impression stated, "Ara. Macey has to get to class before she's marked tardy, so no."

She then walked away from the young woman so many would want to run to. Shizuru watched her maneuver through the crowd of students expertly to retrieve her backpack she had forgotten in her haste to escape. Soon the hall was littered with students staring at the Kyoto beauty clad in a violet blouse and black slacks. They watched her every move until she disappeared behind the door of the office. Once she was out of sight everyone went back to what they were doing before the distraction appeared.

Meanwhile Macey entered a classroom filled with computers. She took her place at the computer labeled number three. Immediately she began typing away at the keyboard to catch up on the work she had missed. Not long after the teacher with short red hair clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. Macey's brown eyed gaze didn't bother to look up from her screen to see what the woman wanted.

"Everyone we have a special guest, Miss Shizuru Fujino. She came here all the way from Japan on a business trip and now she here to visit us in search of some new candidates to invest in." okay that got her attention. Macey looked up to make sure she had heard right, her fingers never faltering in their mission. The class gave up a unified, "Hello."

"It is nice to meet all of you." Shizuru smiled her trademark smile with her head cocked slightly to the right and her eyes closed. Macey could have sworn she saw hearts coming out of everyone's eyes, causing her to roll her own. Turning her brown eyes away from the two woman she proofread what she had wrote so far. That's when someone spoke up, "Well Macey's one of the smartest kids in the junior class. So you don't have to look too far to find your first candidate."

Macey faced the girl next to her who was smiling back at her flushed face. Shizuru's gaze found the girl's own causing her to duck behind the monitor. Her fingers feverishly working in hopes to cause a distraction. A few moments later the teacher walked up to her with Shizuru in toe, "How's it going, Macey? Need any help?"

"No, ma'am." she smiled politely up at the older woman, "I got it, Mrs. Goss."

"As always." she smiled back before turning to Shizuru, "She's one of my best students."

Macey blushed at the compliment looking away from them, "I just do my work. That's all."

"My, my. I didn't know Macey was so modest." the crimson eyed woman teased with a playful smile making her blush to darken in color. Macey coughed before typing once more. The teacher looked at Shizuru then back to her student, "You two know each other?"

"Yes, no matter how unfortunate it may be." Macey answered lightly with a hint of teasing to her tone. Shizuru just smiled, knowing she didn't mean her words. Ms. Goss continued her rounds of the class without another thought, telling her crimson eyed guest about each student. By the time the bell rang to signify the switching of class Macey had finished nearly all her work, and was currently making her way to the room not far from the one she had been in for the past fifty minutes. She felt a presence next to her that was very familiar.

"What class do you have next?" came the question laced with interest. Shizuru moved her hands behind her back as the students cleared a way for her to pass.

"English III." she answered as she continued on to her destination nonchalantly. She then grinned broadly, oh yes English was one of her best subjects. The best thing was they had been working on poems the whole time she was gone. That meant she would be finished in no time. Her chestnut haired companion noticed this.

"Do you enjoy English?" she asked curiously. Macey continued to smile as she stated, "We're writing poems this week. I already have mine done so that means I'm gonna have at least forty minutes of daydreaming time."

Shizuru brought her hand to her mouth to try to stifle her laughter at the explanation. The brown eyed teen didn't seem affected by this, but instead continued into the room in front of her. A tall blond greeted her with a smile, "Welcome back. We've missed you. Whose this?" she motioned to Shizuru.

"This is Shizuru Fujino. She's visiting for the company works for." she answered shortly before taking her seat on the other side of the room to leave the two to talk in a somewhat private manner. A hand shot out and trailed down her hair in a semi-slow fashion, "Hey, Macey."

"Hey, Chloe." she greeted the dark skinned girl with a friendly smile. The short haired girl sat in the desk next to her, "So, where you've been? I was like where's Macey, but no one really knew."

"I guess you could say I was on a business trip." she laughed, taking out her binder.

"Did you get your progress report?" Chloe asked curiously leaning over to look in the binder. Macey nodded to confirm that she had, "Just this morning."

She took it out of the pocket in the binder just before Chloe snatched the paper out of her hands.

"Hey!" she protested. She didn't even get a chance to look at it yet. Macey made a grab for it, but Chloe held it just out of her reach. Her light brown eyes scanned the paper quickly. She then looked up at Macey with mock annoyance, "You know what nobody cares that you have all A's."

"I do?" the dirty blond haired girl blinked twice, her hand still in mid-air.

"How'd you get a hundred in Chemistry? I hate you." she huffed playfully handing the paper back to its' owner roughly to add the look of irritation. Neither girl noticed the icy stare coming from a certain pair of crimson orbs aimed at Chloe's back as they continued their conversation.

"I'm gonna cry now." Macey faked a pout, bringing her hand to her eye dramatically. Her brown eyes moistened to add effect to her hurt look. The dark haired girl smiled at her apologetically, "You know I love you."

"I know. Me, too." Macey replied with her own smile. Her hurt look soon forgotten as the two started laughing. This caught the Kyoto beauty's attention completely. Macey had a girlfriend? She never said anything about it to her. Shizuru shook her head; why would she? It's not like they were that close, then again it felt as if they were. A brunette then walked over to the Cajun teen and hugged her, "I've missed you girl."

"I've missed you too, Brittany." she hugged the teen back. They had a small conversation before the teacher made Brittany go sit down, but only after she told the dirty blond haired girl she loved her. Macey responded the same as she did before with an, "I know."

The rest of the day progressed pretty much the same with a couple of more girls telling Macey they loved her and getting the same response. This left Shizuru feeling both curious and confused. But before she could get a chance to ask Macey had to go to that Student Council meeting. Shizuru was sitting on a bench near the entrance when Macey burst through the door, "Freedom!"

Her dark eyes were filled with amusement at the younger girl's antics. Macey raced over to her, without stopping grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet, and made a mad dash for her Rodeo. The way the teen was running you'd think she was on fire or something. Once inside the safety of the car she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Ara. What was Macey running from?" Shizuru asked as they sped off away from the school. Macey held up her right hand to count off the reasons, causing a pair of ruby eyes to widen, "One: they were trying to get me on float duty, two: they wanted me to stay later, and three: I have to cook again tonight."

"Prehaps it would better if you had both hands on the wheel." Shizuru suggested visibly nervous. Who wouldn't be when in a car with someone that drives like they're in Nascar whenever they got the chance. Macey didn't let the nervousness slip past her promoting a mockingly hurt sniff, "You don't have confidence in my ability to drive?"

"I would have more confidence in your ability if you used both hands." she insisted with a nervous smile. Macey shrugged, "If you say so."

Her right hand found its' way back to the steering wheel to join its' companion once more. After a few moments Shizuru spoke in a teasing tone to lighten the mood, "Macey didn't tell me she had a girlfriend or that she was interested in girls. Is that why you let me hold you the other night?"

"What?" her face lit up like a Christmas tree once again. The automatic swerving slightly when Macey jumped in surprise.

"I don't have a girlfriend." the brown eyed girl protested. Her breathing was somewhat rigid so she was trying to calm herself. Unfortunately she was sitting next to the teasing queen.

"Hm, so you do like girls." she continued with an amused smile.

"I didn't say that!" she exclaimed as her face turned an even darker shade of crimson.

"Yet you didn't deny it." Shizuru stated with a sly smile. It should be illegal to have this much fun. Macey gave her a side glance, "Honestly I don't seem to be attracted to either gender. Mommy said there's something wrong with my head. In all honesty I blame her."

%%%%%%%%

"You're still hanging out with her?" Dylan asked Shizuru in disbelief. Macey rolled her eyes; he acted as if she didn't have friends. Shizuru stared down at him slightly perplexed, though her calm smile was on her face, "Why would I not be friends with your older sister?"

"Because she has a cruel and twisted mind." he answered in a spokey voice while wiggling his fingers to add to the effect. Crimson eyes glanced at the girl standing next to her. Brown eyes widened slightly before turning to avoid eye contact.

"Why would say something like that?" the fair haired woman pressed. Though she didn't have to press to hard as the twelve year old gave up the information willingly, "When she was twelve she got bored on a field trip so she told this girl she was in the witness protection program. She told the girl her name was Lacey and that she had saw her brother shoot someone's brains out."

Two sets of eyes were on the teen now. One of disbelief and one of knowing. Macey laughed nervously, "I didn't quite put it like that."

With a glance from her brother she sighed before putting on a sad expression, "I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm in the witness protection program. I just have to tell someone. My real name is Lacey. When I was little I watched my brother shoot someone in the head." Her eyes went wide as if she were frightened as she continued, "He said that if I told he would come after me, too." Her voice was low and filled with fear, "But when the police came I couldn't keep it a secret anymore."

She then fell to her knees, her eyes watering up. She slumped down with her head hanging. Her hands flew to her face as she pretended to sob, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have told you. It's just... I... It's so hard to keep it in all the time. -sniff- You can't tell anyone, please you can't."

Macey's hands dropped from her face as she looked up at Shizuru. The pain in those eyes took her by surprise. It didn't seem fake, it looked so real. It looked like a pain she had hidden for years, that only grew because it couldn't be healed. She broke Shizuru out of her thoughts as she spoke up in that same broken voice, "Promise you won't tell anyone. If you do they might come get me again."

With that a smile appeared on her face, and the pain in her eyes vanished back into those brown pools. Dylan started clapping, "Encore, encore!"

"Thank you, thank you." she stood to bow with a wide grin. When she continued to smile her brother's face dropped, "Oh no."

Macey clamped her hands behind her back. Her dirty blond hair swayed when she tilted her head slightly to the right and closed her eyes. Then in an overly sweet and girly voice she spoke, "Hello, dearest brother."

The brown haired boy gasped over dramatically with his hand over his mouth, "Lacey!"

"That's right. Did you miss me?" her grin grew wider. He was about to run, but she was too fast for him and pulled him into a hug.

"No get off of me! You evil woman you!" Dylan exclaimed loudly with his arms and legs frantically flailing about.

"I'm sorry brother, but I can't do that." she then planted a kiss on his cheek, "I love you.-giggle-"

"It burns. It burns." he hissed, rubbing at his cheek with the back of his hand. Macey giggled once more in that sickening sweet voice causing him to protest, "What have you done to Macey?"

"I'm not so sorry to inform you that Macey has been permanently terminated." she answered mechanically, releasing her hold on her brother. Once let go he raced off to his room screaming in terror.

"He always hates it when I do that." she explained in her normal voice. Her smile fell into nothing before she chuckled evilly, "He's going to be in there a while."

"Ara. You truly are cruel." Shizuru teased with a playful smile. Macey shrugged nonchalantly, "I can't help it if I was born with an evil side that likes to come out every now and again."

"I suppose." the Kyoto native concurred. The Cajun put her hands behind her head in a carefree manner as she walked off to the kitchen. Shizuru watched her disappear into the other room.

%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Well this is goodbye." Macey smiled lightly. She and Shizuru were standing in the Shreveport Airport. The crimson eyed woman would be leaving soon enough. The brown eyed girl then joked with a laugh, "Guess this means no more feeling lightheaded."

Shizuru smiled calmly at her, feeling a bit sad to be leaving the girl behind, but overjoyed to be going back to Natsuki. Without warning she pulled the teen into a hug.

"People are staring." Macey blushingly whispered. She gazed around her surroundings quickly to see that everyone in a five foot radius was staring at them. The wheat haired woman stepped away from her with an amused smile, "But Macey is so cute when she blushes."

Of course this made even more blood rush to her face. She could already feel the lightheadedness coming on. The long haired teen coughed loudly, "Yeah, well..."

"Goodbye, Macey." Shizuru spoke after she trailed off a bit. Macey nodded slowly, "Goodbye, Shizuru."

A few minutes later Shizuru was on a plane headed back to Japan; back to Natsuki. The crimson eyed young woman allowed a happy smile grace her features. She was finally going home.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Omake:

Macey: -sweatdropps- She makes it sound like I'm dead or something.

Natsuki: -shrugs- As long as I'm in the next chapter I'm happy. Besides you've been in it from the beginning so stop whining.

Macey: -ignores her and starts reading some of the reviews- Cool! I have fans!

Natsuki: -smirks- Too bad they like me more.

Macey: -waves her off- Yeah, yeah.

Natsuki: -growls before pulling a giant hammer out of thin air-

Macey: -shrinks then runs away- Shizuru!

Natsuki: -giving chase- Oh no, she isn't going to save you.

-While Macey flees for her life from the enraged Natsuki pokemonfan13 is working on the next chapter.-

pokemonfan13: -upon hearing the commotion sighs- Oi. Shizuru would you be so kind as to stop Natsuki from killing Macey. I can't have one of my main characters dieing before the end of the story.

Shizuru: -standing up from her chair next to the author- Yes that would pose a problem. I shall return shortly.

-pokemonfan13 continues to type as noises filled the area. A moment later Shizuru returns with a pleased smile on her face. Back in the other room Natsuki and Macey are tied to a couple of chairs with duck tape over their mouths.-


End file.
